Abortion in Washington (state)

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This article is about abortion in the US state of Washington. It is not to be confused with abortion in the District of Columbia.

Abortion in Washington is legal up to the point of fetal viability, or in case the pregnancy poses a risk to life or health.[1][2] In a poll by the Pew Research Center, 60% of adults said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

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.

In Washington politics, the Washington State Democratic Party supports access to abortion while the Washington State Republican Party opposes abortion, which has led to proposed legislation by Republicans that would restrict or ban abortion.[3][4][5]

History[edit]

Legislative history[edit]

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.[6]

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it was illegal in the state, with a therapeutic exception if the life of the mother was at risk.[7] In 1971, the state repealed its statute that said inducing an abortion was a criminal offense.[8][9] Hawaii, New York, Alaska, and Washington were the first states to repeal their abortion laws in the pre-Roe v. Wade era.[10] 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.[9]

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.[11] In August 2018, the state had a law to protect the right to have an abortion.[12] 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.[13] 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.[1][2] This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.[14][15]

Ballot box history[edit]

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.[16][9] In 1991, a ballot box measure passed that made abortion legal up to the point where a fetus was viable.[15][17]

Clinic history[edit]

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.[18] In 2014, there were 33 abortion clinics in the state.[19] 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.[12] In March 2016, there were 35 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.[20] 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.[21]

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.[22] 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.[23] The crime was never solved. The clinic reopened six months later.[24]

Statistics[edit]

In 1990, 606,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[18] In 2014, 60% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[25] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 3.9 deaths per 1,000 live births.[26]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate, and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[27]
Census division and state Number Rate % 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
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
Location Residence Occurrence % obtained by

out-of-state residents

Year Ref
No. Rate^ Ratio^^ No. Rate^ Ratio^^
Washington 17,583 12.6 198 17,710 12.7 200 4.9 2014 [28]
Washington 17,230 12.2 194 17,098 12.1 192 4.5 2015 [29]
Washington 17,140 11.9 189 17,080 11.9 189 3.8 2016 [30]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Abortion financing[edit]

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.[31] In 2010, the state had 14,236 publicly funded abortions, of which were zero federally funded and 14,236 were state funded.[32]

Abortion rights views and activities[edit]

2018 Indivisible demonstration in Olympia regarding Brett Kavanaugh

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[33]

Anti-abortion views and activities[edit]

Seattle Women's March 2019

Violence[edit]

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.[34]

On June 11, 2001, an unsolved bombing at a clinic in Tacoma, Washington, destroyed a wall, resulting in $6,000 in damages.[35]

On January 9, 2005, Eastside Women's Clinic in Olympia, Washington sustained $500,000 damage in an arson.[36]

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.[37] The crime was never solved. The clinic reopened six months later.[38]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "RCW 9.02.110: Right to have and provide". app.leg.wa.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  2. ^ a b "RCW 9.02.120: Unauthorized abortions—Penalty". app.leg.wa.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  3. ^ "Washington state officials react to SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe V. Wade". King 5. June 24, 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  4. ^ Santos, Melissa (2022-06-06). "WA Democrats plan to hit GOP candidates hard on abortion". Axios. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  5. ^ O'Sullivan, Joseph (24 June 2022). "'Roe v. Wade': WA officials, advocates react to Supreme Court ruling | Crosscut". Crosscut.com. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  6. ^ Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
  7. ^ "When Abortion was Illegal (and Deadly): Seattle's Maternal Death Toll - Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project". depts.washington.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  8. ^ Reagan, Leslie J. (1998-09-21). When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867–1973. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520216570.
  9. ^ a b c Tyler, C. W. (1983). "The public health implications of abortion". Annual Review of Public Health. 4: 223–258. doi:10.1146/annurev.pu.04.050183.001255. ISSN 0163-7525. PMID 6860439.
  10. ^ "Medicine: Abortion on Request". Time. March 9, 1970. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved 2012-10-15. (subscription required)
  11. ^ "Study: Abortions Are Safe When Performed By Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Certified Nurse Midwives". 17 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b Panetta, Grace; lee, Samantha (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  13. ^ "Authority of Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to Perform Pre-Viability Aspiration Abortions". Attorney General of Washington State. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  14. ^ Lai, K. K. Rebecca (2019-05-15). "Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  15. ^ a b "Are there *any* states working to protect abortion rights?". Well+Good. 2019-05-17. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  16. ^ "Abortion Reform in Washington State - HistoryLink.org". www.historylink.org. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  17. ^ "How Washington state made its abortion laws Trump-proof". The Seattle Times. 2018-08-15. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. Diane Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
  19. ^ Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  21. ^ "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  22. ^ "Blast Damages Clinic Used for Abortions". The New York Times. 2001-06-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  23. ^ Rachel Alexander & Chad Sokol (September 4, 2015). "Planned Parenthood fire determined to be arson". Spokesman-Review.
  24. ^ Joel Connelly, Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman reopens six months after arson attack, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (February 5, 2016).
  25. ^ "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  26. ^ "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. 24 May 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  27. ^ Henshaw, Stanley K. (2005-06-15). "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 30: 263–270. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  28. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 29166366.
  29. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2018). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2015". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 67 (13): 1–45. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6713a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 30462632.
  30. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 31774741.
  31. ^ Francis Roberta W. "Frequently Asked Questions". Equal Rights Amendment. Alice Paul Institute. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  32. ^ "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  33. ^ Bacon, John. "Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation". USA Today. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  34. ^ Jacobson, Mireille; Royer, Heather (December 2010). "Aftershocks: The Impact of Clinic Violence on Abortion Services". American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 3: 189–223. doi:10.1257/app.3.1.189.
  35. ^ "Blast Damages Clinic Used for Abortions". The New York Times. June 12, 2001. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  36. ^ "Abortion clinic fire in Olympia ruled arson". SeattlePI. January 10, 2005.
  37. ^ Rachel Alexander & Chad Sokol (September 4, 2015). "Planned Parenthood fire determined to be arson". Spokesman-Review.
  38. ^ Joel Connelly, Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman reopens six months after arson attack, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (February 5, 2016).
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