Planned Parenthood Celebrates Governor Inslee Signing the Affirm Washington Abortion Access Act into Law 

OLYMPIA — This morning, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates joined Governor Jay Inslee, First Spouse Trudi Inslee, Representative My-Linh Thai, and providers from Cedar River Clinics to celebrate the signing of House Bill 1851, the Affirm Washington Abortion Access Act. The law confirms that advanced practice clinicians like nurse practitioners and physician assistants can provide abortion care in Washington. 

Washington’s health care system is preparing for an influx of new abortion patients in anticipation of a six-week abortion ban awaiting Governor Brad Little’s signature in Idaho as well as the expected collapse of Roe v. Wade this summer. As abortion becomes unavailable across the country, thousands of patients could be forced to travel long distances to Washington to receive abortion care. The Affirm Washington Abortion Access Act sends a clear message to patients across the country: ‘Our doors are open in Washington, and we are ready to help you get the care you need.’ 

“Today is a much-needed celebration of our state’s dedication to abortion rights, at a time when we’re facing the most significant threat to abortion that our country has seen in over a generation,” said Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates CEO Jennifer M. Allen. “Everyone deserves the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies and their lives, including the decision to have an abortion. This law guarantees that our state will not only safeguard abortion rights, but will go even further to expand access to reproductive health care for Washingtonians and for patients across the country.”

“I am thrilled to be here today, celebrating an important move to affirm and protect abortion access in the state of Washington,” said Dr. Erin Berry, Washington Medical Director for Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaíʻi, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. “And I am particularly thrilled that our state is taking a medicine- and science-informed approach to health care legislation, unlike our neighbor to the east and over a dozen other states across the country. The fact is, abortion is critical and time-sensitive health care —and every person should have access and the freedom to make decisions about whether or not to have an abortion.” 

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Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, Serving AK, HI, ID, IN, KY, WA (PPAA) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization educating residents and policymakers about reproductive health issues in Alaska, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky and Washington. PPAA lobbies and educates to advance Planned Parenthood's mission, and engages in limited electoral activities.