Governor Inslee is making calls for lawmakers in Washington state to pass a constitutional amendment to protect abortion. Jay Inslee, who is a Democrat, is not in support of the new U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v Wade. He said at a press conference Saturday that he will seek to enshrine a right to abortion into Washington’s state constitution.
More than 30 Senate Democrats has called for Biden to take action to protect abortion access. The governor of Washington promised to use other tools at his disposal. He promised to issue an executive order telling the Washington State Patrol “not to cooperate in investigations of other states who violate the Roe v. Wade decision.”
This issue has been a hotspot in politics for a while now. Abortion was legalized in Washington in 1970 through a statewide ballot referendum, and Inslee signed laws in 2018 and 2021 involving health care coverage of abortion.
“We have to understand, because of this Republican assault on women’s rights in this state, without a Constitutional amendment to solidify this right under our state’s Constitution we are one Republican majority [away from] losing the right of choice in the state of Washington,” said the Governor.
Jay Inslee has signed multiple bills promoting access to abortion in Washington state into law. Earlier this year, he signed the “Affirm Washington Abortion Access” bill, which blocks any lawsuits against those seeking an abortion or assisting others seeking the procedure, into law. This was in response to a Texas bill that aimed to ban abortion after six weeks and allow suits to be filed against abortion seekers or those who aid them.
