WASHINGTON — King County announced a $1 million emergency fund and Washington state joined a multi-state agreement with California and Oregon Friday to protect women's abortion rights following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years in a decision by its conservative majority. The outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of U.S. states.
King County Executive Dow Constantine said the $1 million abortion emergency fund will include $500,000 for the Northwest Abortion Access Fund and $500,000 for Public Health - Seattle & King County.
"It is clear that the Court’s sinister decision will not actually stop abortions from happening – it will, rather, take us back to a time when abortions were not safe," Constantine said in a release. "My administration will continue to support providers, public health workers, women, Trans and Non-Binary people and families to ensure that King County remains a safe and welcoming place to access abortion care, family planning services, and the right to privacy."
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said the city is working to expand access to reproductive services, because of the anticipated demand from people out of state seeking safe and accessible care.
The City of Seattle is also investing $250,000 into the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, Harell said.
“Men have an obligation to stand with the women in our country who have seen their constitutional rights eliminated," Harrell said in a statement. "A decision like this makes hope difficult and threatens our most precious rights and liberties. However, in Seattle, we reject this decision – full stop – and will ensure our response is based in a united commitment to maintain and expand our city’s embrace of privacy, freedom, and shared values.”
Hours after the reversal, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a multi-state partnership with California and Oregon to "defend access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives and committed to protecting patients and doctors against efforts by other states to export their abortion bans to our states."
“The law remains unchanged in Washington state, but the threat to patient access and privacy has never been more dangerous," Inslee said in a release. "Even in Washington state, Republicans have introduced about 40 bills in the past six years to roll back abortion rights and access to reproductive care. The right of choice should not depend on which party holds the majority, but that’s where we find ourselves."
Inslee said more than half of the country's population lacks safe access to abortion.
In 13 states, so-called trigger laws were designed to take effect if Roe v. Wade was overturned. Others states with conservative legislatures are likely to try passing partial or full bans on abortion. According to the abortion-rights think tank the Guttmacher Institute, nine more states fall into this category.
One of Washington state's neighbors, Idaho, has a trigger law in place to ban all or most abortions.
"Washington state remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting the ability and right of every patient who comes to our state in need of abortion care and we will fight like hell to restore that right to patients all across the country," Inslee said.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling, abortion rights are currently secured in the state of Washington.
In 1991, Washington state voters approved Initiative 120, which offers strong abortion protections, including funding for low-income women who want abortions.