Three Candidates Threatening Washington Abortion Rights in 2022
For Immediate Release: Sept. 29, 2022
SEATTLE, WA — Abortion rights are on the line in November’s election, in Washington state and across the country. Although abortion is currently legal in Washington, anti-abortion extremists in the U.S. Congress are already preparing to pursue a national abortion ban that would strip Washingtonians of our reproductive freedom.
But this November, Washington voters have a chance to fight back against federal efforts to ban abortion. Control of both the U.S. House and Senate depends on competitive races across our state. Certain candidates in Washington have shown us time and time again who they are and what they intend to do if given a voting majority in elected office.
In WA-03, Joe Kent is clear that he supports a federal abortion ban that would eliminate all abortion access in Washington by allowing no exceptions even if the life of the pregnant person is at stake. He would strip Americans of access to all abortion care. He “will work tirelessly to protect the rights of unborn children,” and consistently uses dangerous, extremist, anti-abortion rhetoric like calling Planned Parenthood “the #1 murderer of the unborn.” There is no doubt that Joe Kent will work to pass a draconian abortion ban if elected to Congress.
In WA-08, candidate Matt Larkin supports banning abortion outright beginning at conception, and even in cases of rape or incest. These extreme positions, which fall strongly in opposition to public opinion in Washington, earned Larkin praise from the fringe Family Policy Institute of Washington, which lauded Larkin as “unashamedly pro-life.” Larkin has even gone beyond calls to ban abortion and likened abortion to murder (Unleash Washington’s 8th District GOP Debate; March 26, 2022), a belief that opens doors to extreme policies like the criminalization of pregnant people.
In the Washington Senate race, it’s clear that Tiffany Smiley can read a poll because ever since abortion began ranking as a top issue for Washington voters in 2022, Smiley has tried to backtrack and obscure her record. But that doesn’t change the fact that Smiley has repeatedly described herself as “100% pro-life” and supports Texas’s near-total abortion ban. Smiley’s empty rhetoric about Washington state laws won’t matter if she has a chance to bring her “100% pro-life” positions to Congress.
“A lot of people believe that our right to abortion is a given in our state, but that simply isn’t the case,” said Courtney Normand, Washington State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “The actions of politicians in neighboring states show us that the threats to our rights are real and we have to do everything in our power to keep anti-abortion politicians out of office so we can continue to be a safe haven for not only Washingtonians, but also people from out of state that depend on us.”
All people, regardless of where we live or what we look like, deserve to be able to make the best health care choices for ourselves and our families. The decision of when and if to become a parent is one of the most important many of us will make in life. We must defend this right by voting for abortion advocates.