Governor Inslee, Washington lawmakers announcing legislation ‘protecting abortion access’
OLYMPIA, Wash – As states grapple with the future of legal abortion access, Washington Governor Jay Inslee will join students and lawmakers Friday to announce plans to seek further protection for abortion rights in Washington.
Gov. Inslee and several Washington Democrats will join students at Western Washington University to “announce the first pieces of a legislative package aimed at protecting abortion access and reproductive freedoms for all patients seeking services in Washington,” the governor’s office said in a press announcement Thursday.
Joining the governor will be Sen. Manka Dhingra, Rep. Sharon Shewmake and Rep. Vandana Slatter.
While no further details were given about the legislation, Gov. Inslee has previously said he would consider an amendment cementing abortion rights in Washington.
Gov. Inslee also issued a directive in late June telling the Washington State Patrol to “refuse cooperation with any investigatory requests related to abortion that come from states that don’t allow or significantly constrain access to abortion.”
Washington’s Reproductive Privacy Act declares that “every pregnant individual has the fundamental right to choose or refuse to have an abortion.” It was passed in 1991 and affirmed by the legislature in 2022.
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