Abortion in Washington (state)
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{{about-distinguish|abortion in the US state of Washington|abortion in the District of Columbia}}
{{Cleanup|reason=Focuses too much on national side and has barely anything covering WA specifically|date=June 2019}}
Abortion in Washington is legal, and available up to the point of fetal viability, or in case the pregnancy poses a risk to life or health.{{Cite web |title=RCW 9.02.110: Right to have and provide. |url=https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.02.110 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=app.leg.wa.gov}}{{Cite web |title=RCW 9.02.120: Unauthorized abortions—Penalty. |url=https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.02.120 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=app.leg.wa.gov}} In a 2014 poll by the Pew Research Center, 60% of adults said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 73% of Washingtonians said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-02 |title=Abortion Views in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI’s 2023 American Values Atlas {{!}} PRRI |url=https://www.prri.org/research/abortion-views-in-all-50-states-findings-from-prris-2023-american-values-atlas/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=PRRI {{!}} At the intersection of religion, values, and public life. |language=en-US}}
Washington currently has nineteen abortion clinics. The number of clinics has declined over the years, with 95 in 1982, 65 in 1992, and 33 in 2014. There were 17,710 legal abortions performed in the state in 2014, and 17,098 in 2015.
History
= Legislative history =
By 1950, the state legislature passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion, regardless of whether she went through with it, was guilty of a criminal offense.{{Cite journal |last=Buell |first=Samuel |date=1991-01-01 |title=Criminal Abortion Revisited |url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2174 |journal=New York University Law Review |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=1774–1831 |pmid=11652642}}
Abortion was made legal in 1970. Prior to that, it was illegal in the state, with a therapeutic exception if the life of the mother was at risk.{{Cite web|url=https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/abortion_deaths.htm|title=When Abortion was Illegal (and Deadly): Seattle's Maternal Death Toll - Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project|website=depts.washington.edu|access-date=2019-05-22}} In 1971, the state repealed its statute that said inducing an abortion was a criminal offense.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/whenabortionwasc00reag_0|url-access=registration|title=When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867–1973|last=Reagan|first=Leslie J.|date=1998-09-21|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520216570}} Hawaii, New York, Alaska, and Washington were the first states to repeal their abortion laws in the pre-Roe v. Wade era.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878789,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201211449/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878789,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 1, 2010|title=Medicine: Abortion on Request|date=March 9, 1970|magazine=Time|access-date=2012-10-15}} {{subscription required}} Still, state law in 1971 required that any woman getting a legal abortion in the state needed to be a resident for some specific period between 30 and 90 days.{{Cite journal|last=Tyler|first=C. W.|date=1983|title=The public health implications of abortion|journal=Annual Review of Public Health|volume=4|pages=223–258|doi=10.1146/annurev.pu.04.050183.001255|issn=0163-7525|pmid=6860439|doi-access=free}}
As of 2017, Washington State, New Mexico, Illinois, Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey allow certain qualified non-physicians to prescribe drugs for medical abortions only.{{cite web|url=https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/01/13403/study-abortions-are-safe-when-performed-nurse-practitioners-physician-assistants|title=Study: Abortions Are Safe When Performed By Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Certified Nurse Midwives|date=17 January 2013 |access-date=25 January 2017}} In August 2018, the state had a law to protect the right to have an abortion. In February 2019, the Washington State Attorney General issued an opinion that the physician-only clause of Washington State abortion law (I-120) was unenforceable, and that aspiration and medication abortion prior to viability was within the scope of nurse practitioners and physician assistants.{{cite web |title=Authority of Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to Perform Pre-Viability Aspiration Abortions |url=https://www.atg.wa.gov/ago-opinions/authority-advanced-registered-nurse-practitioners-and-physician-assistants-perform-pre |website=Attorney General of Washington State |access-date=28 September 2019}} As of 2024, the state prohibits abortions after the fetus is viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28, unless the pregnancy poses a risk to life or health. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/abortion-laws-states.html,%20https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/abortion-laws-states.html|title=Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year|last=Lai|first=K. K. Rebecca|date=2019-05-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-24|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/abortion-law-by-state/|title=Are there *any* states working to protect abortion rights?|date=2019-05-17|website=Well+Good|access-date=May 25, 2019}}
= Ballot box history =
In November 1970, Washington held a referendum on legalizing early pregnancy abortions, becoming the first state to legalize abortion through a vote of the people.{{cite web|url=http://www.historylink.org/File/5313|title=Abortion Reform in Washington State - HistoryLink.org|website=www.historylink.org|access-date=2017-10-09}} In 1991, a ballot box measure passed that made abortion legal up to the point where a fetus was viable.{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/what-would-a-conservative-supreme-court-mean-for-roe-v-wade-to-local-activists-its-history-repeating/|title=How Washington state made its abortion laws Trump-proof|date=2018-08-15|website=The Seattle Times|access-date=May 25, 2019}}
= Clinic history =
{{See also|Abortion clinic}}Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state declined by thirty, going from 95 in 1982 to 65 in 1992.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDqXplZptaIC|title=A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights|last1=Arndorfer|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Michael|first2=Jodi|last3=Moskowitz|first3=Laura|last4=Grant|first4=Juli A.|last5=Siebel|first5=Liza|date=December 1998|publisher=Diane Publishing|isbn=9780788174810}} In 2014, there were 33 abortion clinics in the state.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-abortion-clinics-are-in-america-each-state-2017-2|title=The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state|last=Gould|first=Rebecca Harrington, Skye|website=Business Insider|access-date=2019-05-23}} In 2014, 64% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 15% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.es/abortion-access-in-america-maps-charts-if-roe-falls-2018-8|title=This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell|author1=Panetta, Grace |author2=lee, Samantha|date=2018-08-04|website=Business Insider|language=es|access-date=2019-05-24|archive-date=2019-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524083342/https://www.businessinsider.es/abortion-access-in-america-maps-charts-if-roe-falls-2018-8|url-status=dead}} In March 2016, there were 35 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestate.com/news/databases/article67953487.html|title=27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics|last=Bohatch|first=Emily|website=thestate|access-date=2019-05-24}} In 2017, there were 34 Planned Parenthood clinics, of which 26 offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 1,645,293 women aged 15–49.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-planned-parenthood-locations-states/|title=Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood|access-date=2019-05-23}}
On June 11, 2001, an unsolved bombing took place at a clinic in Tacoma, Washington, destroying a wall and resulting in $6,000 in damages.{{Cite news |date=2001-06-12 |title=Blast Damages Clinic Used for Abortions |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/12/us/blast-damages-clinic-used-for-abortions.html |access-date=2019-05-22 |issn=0362-4331}} On September 4, 2015, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman, Washington, was intentionally set on fire. No injuries were reported due to the time of day, but the FBI was involved because of a history of domestic terrorism against the clinic.{{cite web |author=Rachel Alexander & Chad Sokol |date=September 4, 2015 |title=Planned Parenthood fire determined to be arson |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/sep/04/police-investigation-suspicious-fire-planned-paren/ |newspaper=Spokesman-Review}} The crime was never solved. The clinic reopened six months later.Joel Connelly, [http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Planned-Parenthood-clinic-in-Pullman-reopens-6810070.php Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman reopens six months after arson attack], Seattle Post-Intelligencer (February 5, 2016).
Statistics
In 1990, 606,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy. In 2014, 60% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/|title=Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics |work=Pew Research Center|access-date=2019-05-23}} In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 3.9 deaths per 1,000 live births.{{Cite web |title=States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/states-pushing-abortion-bans-have-higher-infant-mortality-rates-n1008481 |access-date=May 25, 2019 |website=NBC News|date=24 May 2019 }}
| class="wikitable"
|+ Number of reported abortions, abortion rate, and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996{{Cite journal|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/1998/11/abortion-incidence-and-services-united-states-1995-1996|title=Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996|date=2005-06-15|journal=Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health|volume=30 |pages=263–270 |access-date=2019-06-02 |last1=Henshaw |first1=Stanley K. }} ! rowspan="2" | Census division and state | colspan="3" | Number | colspan="3" | Rate | rowspan="2" | % change 1992–1996 | ||||
| 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | ||
| US total | 1,528,930 | 1,363,690 | 1,365,730 | 25.9 | 22.9 | 22.9 | –12 |
| Pacific | 368,040 | 290,520 | 288,190 | 38.7 | 30.5 | 30.1 | –22 |
| Alaska | 2,370 | 1,990 | 2,040 | 16.5 | 14.2 | 14.6 | –11 |
| California | 304,230 | 240,240 | 237,830 | 42.1 | 33.4 | 33 | –22 |
| Hawaii | 12,190 | 7,510 | 6,930 | 46 | 29.3 | 27.3 | –41 |
| Oregon | 16,060 | 15,590 | 15,050 | 23.9 | 22.6 | 21.6 | –10 |
| Washington | 33,190 | 25,190 | 26,340 | 27.7 | 20.2 | 20.9 | –24 |
| class="wikitable"
|+Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates ! rowspan="2" |Location ! colspan="3" |Residence ! colspan="3" |Occurrence ! rowspan="2" |% obtained by out-of-state residents ! rowspan="2" |Year ! rowspan="2" |Ref | |||||||||
| No.
|Rate^ |Ratio^^ |No. |Rate^ |Ratio^^ | |||||||||
| Washington | 17,583 | 12.6 | 198 | 17,710 | 12.7 | 200 | 4.9 | 2014 | {{Cite journal|last=Jatlaoui|first=Tara C.|date=2017|title=Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014|journal=MMWR. Surveillance Summaries|volume=66|issue=24|pages=1–48|doi=10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1|issn=1546-0738|pmid=29166366|pmc=6289084}} |
| Washington
|17,230 |12.2 |194 |17,098 |12.1 |192 |4.5 |2015 | |||||||||
| Washington
|17,140 |11.9 |189 |17,080 |11.9 |189 |3.8 |2016 | |||||||||
| colspan="10" |^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births |
Abortion financing
Seventeen states including Washington use their own funds to cover all or most "medically necessary" abortions sought by low-income women under Medicaid, thirteen of which are required by State court orders to do so.{{cite web|url=http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm|title=Frequently Asked Questions|author=Francis Roberta W.|work=Equal Rights Amendment|publisher=Alice Paul Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417234051/http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm|archive-date=2009-04-17|url-status=dead|access-date=2009-09-13}} In 2010, the state had 14,236 publicly funded abortions, of which were zero federally funded and 14,236 were state funded.{{Cite web|url=https://data.guttmacher.org/states/table?state=AL+AK+AZ+AR+CA+CO+CT+DE+DC+FL+GA+HI+ID+IL+IN+IA+KS+KY+LA+ME+MD+MA+MI+MN+MS+MO+MT+NE+NV+NH+NJ+NM+NY+NC+ND+OH+OK+OR+PA+RI+SC+SD+TN+TX+UT+VT+VA+WA+WV+WI+WY&topics=62&dataset=data|title=Guttmacher Data Center|website=data.guttmacher.org|access-date=2019-05-24}}
Abortion rights views and activities
File:2018--Indivisible demonstration in Olympia regarding Brett Kavanaugh (44237332092).jpg
Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/21/abortion-laws-stopthebans-rallies-set-across-nation-today/3750913002/|title=Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation|last=Bacon|first=John|website=USA Today|access-date=May 25, 2019}}
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, thousands of abortion rights protesters protested in Spokane,{{Cite web |last1=Robinson |first1=Erin |title=Abortion rights activists protest outside Spokane City Hall |url=https://www.kxly.com/activists-gather-in-support-of-spokanes-proposed-abortion-protection-resolution/ |website=KXLY.com |date=July 25, 2022}} Westland Park and Downtown Seattle.{{Cite web |last1=Charles |first1=Alfred |title=Protesters take to the streets in Seattle and elsewhere after historic abortion ruling |url=https://komonews.com/amp/news/local/protesters-take-to-the-streets-in-seattle-and-elsewhere-after-historic-abortion-ruling |website=KOMO News |date=June 25, 2022}}
On November 8 and 9, 2024, hundreds attended anti-Trump rallies in Seattle and Portland, Oregon.{{Cite web |title=Anti-Trump protests erupt across US from New York City to Seattle|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/09/donald-trump-protests-election |website=The Guardian |date=November 9, 2024 |access-date=2024-11-10 |language=en}}
Anti-abortion views and activities
= Violence =
Two documented arson attacks on abortion clinics took place in 1983 including one in Washington. Between this attack and one in Virginia, over US$500,000 in damage was done to the two clinics.{{Cite journal|last1=Jacobson|first1=Mireille|last2=Royer|first2=Heather|date=December 2010|title=Aftershocks: The Impact of Clinic Violence on Abortion Services|url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w16603|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|volume=3|pages=189–223|doi=10.1257/app.3.1.189}}
On June 11, 2001, an unsolved bombing at a clinic in Tacoma, Washington, destroyed a wall, resulting in $6,000 in damages.{{cite news |title=Blast Damages Clinic Used for Abortions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/12/us/blast-damages-clinic-used-for-abortions.html |access-date=October 13, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 12, 2001}}
On January 9, 2005, Eastside Women's Clinic in Olympia, Washington sustained $500,000 damage in an arson.{{cite web |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Abortion-clinic-fire-in-Olympia-ruled-arson-1163839.php/ |title=Abortion clinic fire in Olympia ruled arson |date=January 10, 2005 |publisher=SeattlePI }}
On September 4, 2015, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman, Washington was intentionally set on fire. No injuries were reported due to the time of day, but the FBI was involved because of a history of domestic terrorism against the clinic.{{cite web|author=Rachel Alexander & Chad Sokol|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/sep/04/police-investigation-suspicious-fire-planned-paren/|title=Planned Parenthood fire determined to be arson|date=September 4, 2015|newspaper=Spokesman-Review}} The crime was never solved. The clinic reopened six months later.Joel Connelly, [http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Planned-Parenthood-clinic-in-Pullman-reopens-6810070.php Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman reopens six months after arson attack], Seattle Post-Intelligencer (February 5, 2016).