WA Extremist Candidates Take Aim at Gender-Affirming Care, Reproductive Health Services
For Immediate Release: Oct. 13, 2022
SEATTLE, WA — Abortion has quickly become a top issue leading up to the 2022 midterm election and rightfully so, but this November has even more at stake, with attacks on people who can get pregnant, LGTBQ+ people, and the medical field coming from extremist candidates and incumbents.
Certain Washington lawmakers have thrown every far-right proposal they could at the wall in hopes something would stick, including bills to ban abortion outright in Washington state (HB 2121), require parental consent to access care (SB 2041), and ban medication abortion (HB 1679). As a collective, they’ve also voted ‘no’ on bills in both the House and the Senate crucial to the health and well-being of our most vulnerable community members.
The Republican caucus voted ‘no’ on a bill supporting gender-affirming health care coverage and prohibiting discrimination (SB 5315) along with a bill to allow survivors of intimate partner violence to seek civil protection orders if their abusers use coercive control tactics to oppress and instill fear (HB 1901).
When it comes to young people’s access to reproductive health services, extremist representatives voted against abortion coverage in college student health plans (HB 1009) and menstrual hygiene products being made available in school and higher education (HB 1273). They also voted against implicit bias training in medical schools (SB 5228), a critical strategy in reducing health disparities.
These votes show us where these candidates’ values lie and they are not with the people of Washington. At every step, extremist politicians want to insert their own beliefs into personal medical decisions that should be left up to the individual. This is dangerous, irresponsible, and unacceptable.
“Time and time again, a minority in the state legislature have demonstrated that their values and priorities don’t match those of everyday Washingtonians,” said Courtney Normand, Washington State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “If the legislature were to fall under their control, we could very easily see drastic, harmful changes in our day-to-day life here in Washington. We refuse to give in to their hate and contempt for pregnant people, LGBTQ people and disregard for equity within the medical community, and we must fight attempts to restrict our rights tooth and nail.”