WA must continue its role as lead defender of abortion rights

First, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Then came last month’s attack by the Alabama Supreme Court with its ruling on embryos, which momentarily halted in vitro fertilization in the state. The latest attack, which was before the high court this week, was lobbed by anti-abortion doctors and organizations that claim they are morally harmed by people using the abortion drug mifepristone.

Those who value people’s ability to control their own reproductive health care, however, might have reason to exhale. At least some justices seemed skeptical of the argument by the Alliance of Hippocratic Medicine, which is suing the Federal Drug Administration over the use of the drug mifepristone. During oral arguments, some justices, while not questioning abortion rights per se, questioned whether the alliance has standing in the court.

With this conservative majority court, nothing should be taken for granted. That’s why states like Washington should be prepared for the fallout should the court’s decision, expected in June, favor the plaintiffs.

Washington has been a leader in protecting women’s right to govern their own bodies ever since the court’s stunning 2022 decision. Gov. Jay Inslee quickly ordered a stockpile of mifepristone, which the state still has. 

Mifepristone, which has been used by more than 5 million people in the U.S. and is FDA-approved, accounts for nearly 60% of the abortions in Washington.

The state Legislature passed five bills last year to help protect the right to an abortion, including a shield law that protects patients and providers from out-of-state prosecutions and a bill that authorized the Department of Corrections to distribute the 30,000 doses of stockpiled mifepristone to health care providers.

More than 20,000 abortions were performed in the state in 2022, according to the Washington State Department of Health. That number increased by 23% last year. Of the abortions performed in 2022, 1,400 were for people who lived outside Washington but sought care in the state, a 46% increase over the previous year. 

Should the court rule in favor of the alliance it would make access to abortions even more scarce, and likely send even more women to Washington for care. 

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden signaled to the justices that their decision on Roe v. Wade isn’t the final say. As this civil rights battle continues to play out in statehouses, Congress and at the ballot box and in courts, Washington should continue its role as a lead defender of the right to choose.