On the heels of the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced their commitment to defend access to reproductive health care in their states.
The “Multi-State Commitment to Reproductive Freedom” says the states will protect against efforts by other states that may be hostile to out-of-state patients who receive reproductive health care services in their states.
The governors also confirmed they will protect people who do not cooperate with judicial and local law enforcement about out-of-state investigations, inquiries and arrests around abortions and other reproductive health care services.
The commitment also extends to refusing the extradition of people wanted for criminal prosecution for receiving or providing reproductive health care in their states.
Additionally, in a separate media release on Friday, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced $1 million in emergency funds to ensure safe access to abortion in King County.
“This morning’s ruling by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade is the culmination of a decades-long strategy by right-wing zealots to strip the essential right to abortion care from millions of Americans,” Constantine said.
Constantine authorized $500,000 to the Northwest Abortion Access Fund to help people secure abortion care in the Pacific Northwest.
The remaining $500,000 will be put into an emergency fund at Public Health – Seattle & King County to help the local health care system respond to out-of-state abortion-seekers.
“Even though Washington state law protects the right to abortion care, we know that neighboring states are poised to impose some of the strictest and most punitive abortion bans our nation has ever seen,” Constantine said. “Health care providers and public health leaders are bracing for an influx of people traveling to Washington state and King County to obtain an abortion.”
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