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Abortion rights rally urges WA lawmakers to push back on Trump agenda

Sofia Schwarzwalder, The Seattle Times on

Published in News & Features

OLYMPIA, Wash. — "Who's glad they live in Washington state?"

The question, asked by retired physician Kjersten Gmeiner, was answered with cheers and applause from a multigenerational crowd of reproductive health care advocates.

Standing below a crowd of 50 people on the Capitol steps to rally in support of reproductive and gender-affirming health care, Gmeiner encouraged attendees to lobby state lawmakers to ensure Washington remains a sanctuary state for abortion.

Following conservative wins across the nation in the November election, some state legislatures are seeking to repeal access to abortion and gender-affirming care. Washington has a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, with lawmakers who have pledged to protect access to health care services.

"You can have great laws on the books, but if there is no enforcement or no money behind them, it is just a good novel," said Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond. "We are going to ensure that everyone who comes to the state of Washington has access to the complete health care needs that they have."

Dhingra is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 5093, which seeks to decriminalize concealed births. If passed, the legislation would repeal RCW 9.02.050, which makes a concealed death of a newborn a gross misdemeanor, punishable with up to one year in prison.

The law has stood in Washington state for over a century but has never been used, Dhingra said during the bill's public hearing in the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Tuesday. But similar legislation in other states has been used to target women who have had abortions or women who miscarry.

"When someone loses their pregnancy they should be processing grief and getting the support they need," Dhingra said. "They should not have to worry about police becoming involved."

Pro-Choice Washington, the host of Wednesday's rally, is an advocacy organization focused on preserving access to abortion, sexual and reproductive health care. This year, its legislative priorities include strengthening Washington's Shield Law, reducing Medicare rates for sexual and reproductive health care services and pushing legislation related to dignity in pregnancy loss and access to abortion medication on college campuses.

Some legislative priorities this year are driven by fear that the second Trump administration may use loopholes in legislation to ban or restrict access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care.

University of Washington student Ahna Rader said the Trump administration has left her feeling less than optimistic.

"But this administration coming in doesn't necessarily change our goals and our vision for what we want," she said. "We are pro-choice and we are pro-options for people."

Eli Goss acknowledged the state's $12 billion to $16 billion budget deficit.

"Don't give in to the scarcity," said Goss, executive director of the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, a policy group working with Pro-Choice Washington.

Instead Goss told the crowd to ask their lawmakers to tax the ultrawealthy and address tax loopholes, rather than cutting programs to "ensure that we have a budget that's for everybody."

In his first hour as governor, Bob Ferguson signed three executive orders, including one aimed at strengthening existing reproductive health legal protections in the state. The order directs the Department of Health to convene a roundtable of experts, medical providers and policymakers.

 

The Conservative Ladies of Washington, which "believes strongly in protecting the right to life for all humans from conception on," is urging state lawmakers this year to introduce limits around abortion law, founder and President Julie Barrett said in an email. She acknowledged abortion is legal in the state and does "not believe there is any threat" to receiving the care here.

Barrett referenced state laws that allow people to access abortion services regardless of age, which she said could "pose significant risks to minors."

Senate Bill 5321 aims to broaden access to medication abortion on college campuses through telehealth appointments. Barrett thinks women should have in-person consultations "to ensure best possible health outcomes."

"We remain committed to opposing pro-abortion legislation and would welcome any opportunity to collaborate with lawmakers to develop policies that prioritize women's health," Barrett said.

In his first term, President Donald Trump nominated three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade and reversed the constitutional right to abortion. However, his position on abortion rights and reproductive health care was inconsistent throughout his 2024 campaign. He promised to veto a federal abortion ban if one reached his desk, allowing states to make their own decisions.

Trump's stance on Project 2025, a policy plan developed by the Heritage Foundation, also remains somewhat unclear after he attempted to distance himself from it on the campaign trail. The plan is promoted as a "presidential transition project" and proposes strategies for restricting access to emergency abortion care and mifepristone, a common abortion medication.

David Moore, a participant in the rally, said Project 2025 and the executive orders coming from the Trump administration are supposed to generate fear. "They want you to just give up and say I can't do anything," Moore said. "You have to hold firm and you have to fight back."

Since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022, researchers have attempted to track the case's impact on care here, where abortion remains legal. While national surveys estimate an 11% increase in clinician-provided abortions in states without bans, the Guttmacher Institute reports Washington has seen a 34.1% rise in abortions since 2020.

But within different hospital systems and clinics, effects can vary. University of Washington epidemiology and obstetric experts found last week that among UW hospitals, there were minimal changes in abortion care following the Dobbs decision.

Overall, the number of abortions provided at UW's academic medical centers between January 2022 and October 2023 stayed relatively stable between the six months before Dobbs and 16 months after Dobbs, the study reports. The paper noted a jump in out-of-state patients, from 1.6% before Dobbs to 5% post-Dobbs, but said those results weren't "statistically significant."

Researchers — some of whom last year also found a 50% increase in out-of-state patients at Cedar River Clinics, which provides about 15% of abortions in Washington — said the more recent study suggests academic medical centers have capacity to expand abortion access and training.

Last year's report looked more closely at which states patients were coming from, and found most came from Texas and Alaska, followed by Idaho, Louisiana and Florida. Before Dobbs, more than half of Cedar River's out-of-state patients came from Alaska, with some from Montana and Idaho and a fraction from Oregon and Texas.

The fact abortions nationwide are up, despite state bans, points to continued demand and need for access, according to abortion advocates and data trackers.

Even states with bans have recorded a climb in abortion numbers, which experts largely attribute to the expansion of telehealth and medication abortion, allowing people to receive prescriptions virtually and abortion pills through the mail.


©2025 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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