{"id":282392,"date":"2022-12-30T12:45:52","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T18:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=282392"},"modified":"2022-12-29T15:37:57","modified_gmt":"2022-12-29T21:37:57","slug":"washington-state-lawmakers-constitutional-right-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/washington-state-lawmakers-constitutional-right-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington state lawmakers file constitutional amendment to guarantee ‘right’ to abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Lawmakers in Washington state have filed a constitutional amendment that would guarantee a right to abortion. The proposal,\u00a0Senate Joint Resolution 8202,<\/a> was filed on December 21 by Senators Karen Keiser and Patty Kuderer at the request of Governor Jay Inslee.<\/p>\n

The proposed amendment reads<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cThe state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom decisions, which includes the individual’s fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and the individual’s fundamental right to choose to use contraception.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the nationwide fallout from the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling, one thing became clear: Washington state is a national leader in protecting the right to choose,\u201d said Kuderer. \u201cWe have more protections for providers and patients coming in 2023 to guarantee the right to an abortion remains safe and legal in Washington. We will remain a state that safeguards healthcare for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health care by definition seeks to cure and heal illness and disease, not to end human life. Induced abortion, however, intentionally kills human beings. It does not heal or cure disease.<\/p>\n

URGENT:\u00a0<\/b>For every dollar given, 34 more people can be reached with the truth about abortion. Will you join us in this life-saving work as a monthly donor today?<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

According to The Olympian<\/a>, voters first approved abortion in the state in 1970 with the passage of Referendum 20. In 1991, the state passed the\u00a0Reproductive Privacy Act, which codified the right to abortion into law.<\/p>\n

Inslee promised earlier this year to further expand abortion in the state following the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade<\/em>. In October, he announced<\/a> several abortion-friendly proposals, including one which would make Washington a “sanctuary state” for abortion. In July, he issued a directive prohibiting the Washington State Police from cooperating in any out-of-state abortion investigations.<\/p>\n

“Access to a woman’s right of choice is a health care issue,” Inslee previously said in a press conference. “Healthcare must remain the providence of individual Washington women. These laws will keep the tentacles of restrictive states out of Washington.”<\/p>\n

He also praised Keiser and Kuderer for introducing the constitutional amendment. “Washington is and will remain a pro-choice state,” he said in a tweet. “A constitutional amendment is one more stop to safeguarding abortion rights for all patients seeking care here.”<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Washington is and will remain a pro-choice state. A constitutional amendment is one more step to safeguarding abortion rights for all patients seeking care here. Thanks to Sens. Karen Keiser and Patty Kuderer for sponsoring this legislation. https:\/\/t.co\/Mo1myPe3VA<\/a> #waleg<\/a><\/p>\n

— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) December 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n