Tag Archives: Abortion Rights

Voices

OPINION: What Now? What’s Next for Abortion in Washington and Beyond

by Megan Burbank

After Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion overruling Roe v. Wade leaked the night of May 2, the court’s credibility hit an all-time low and the outcome reproductive rights advocates long feared became prematurely real months before a decision had been expected. While the court could theoretically release a different decision when it officially rules on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban this summer, it’s incredibly unlikely, and the draft ruling itself, rooted in anti-feminist rhetoric that quite literally comes out of the 17th century, shows the activist tendencies of the court’s conservative majority.

Continue reading OPINION: What Now? What’s Next for Abortion in Washington and Beyond →
News

Rising Voices in the Fight Over Roe v. Wade

by Phil Manzano with photography by Maile Anderson and Alex Garland

After news site Politico obtained and published a draft opinion last week showing the Supreme Court had voted to overturn a woman’s right to choose an abortion, opposition galvanized overnight.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at Westlake Park last Tuesday night, May 3, and earlier Gov. Jay Inslee called on politicians and advocates to rally at Kerry Park where he vowed Washington “was a pro-choice state, Washington State is a pro-choice state, and we are going to fight like hell to keep Washington a pro-choice state.”

Continue reading Rising Voices in the Fight Over Roe v. Wade →
News

Washington Leaders and Pro-Choice Advocates Protest Draft Opinion Overturning Roe v. Wade

by Elizabeth Turnbull and Sarah Goh

Content Warning: This article discusses the topic of sexual violence and assault.

Washington leaders joined a growing national protest Tuesday, May 3, after news site Politico obtained and published a Supreme Court draft opinion showing the court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 decision ensuring a woman’s right to an abortion.

Continue reading Washington Leaders and Pro-Choice Advocates Protest Draft Opinion Overturning Roe v. Wade →
Voices

OPINION: Here’s What You Need to Know About Idaho’s 6-Week Abortion Ban

by Megan Burbank

Content Warning: This story includes discussion of sexual assault.

On Wednesday, March 23, a worst-case scenario predicted by abortion rights activists became a reality when Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a policy modeled on SB 8, Texas’ extreme six-week abortion ban. As the first law modeled on SB 8 to be implemented, Idaho’s provision bans abortions after six weeks, and — in a surreal variation on the Texas law — allows providers to be sued for $20,000 by people who might have been family members of babies who might have been born if embryos had been carried to term.

Continue reading OPINION: Here’s What You Need to Know About Idaho’s 6-Week Abortion Ban →
Voices

OPINION: How Do You Support Someone Who’s Having an Abortion?

The Senate and SCOTUS Won’t Tell You, but TV Might

by Megan Burbank

A few weeks ago, while working on a story about the seemingly inevitable reversal of Roe v. Wade, I heard a source say something I’ve been thinking about ever since: They’d heard from someone who didn’t self-identify as pro-choice but wanted to help offset the costs of abortion care for a person they’d never met.

Continue reading OPINION: How Do You Support Someone Who’s Having an Abortion? →
Features

Abortion Bill Would Recognize More Providers, Shield Pregnant People From Prosecution

by Megan Burbank

If you have an abortion in Washington State, you might not see a provider with an M.D. after their name. That’s normal. In our state, with requisite training and certification, advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs) and physician assistants (PAs) can become abortion providers, and a new bill introduced in this year’s legislative session would make it official. This proposed change to Washington’s Reproductive Privacy Act, which codified abortion rights statewide in 1991, is one of several changes raised in the new bill, known as the Affirm Washington Abortion Access Act (HB 1851/SB 5766).

Continue reading Abortion Bill Would Recognize More Providers, Shield Pregnant People From Prosecution →
Features

Here’s What Could Happen in Washington if Roe v. Wade Is Overturned

by Megan Burbank

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion in 1973, abortion access could be newly restricted as soon as this summer. But abortion won’t be criminalized overnight. Because there’s no national anti-abortion law, reversing Roe would leave the future of abortion access up to the discretion of state legislatures. That means 26 states would likely ban the procedure, but in Washington State, abortion care would continue.

Continue reading Here’s What Could Happen in Washington if Roe v. Wade Is Overturned →
Features

All Those ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Comparisons Ignore the Reality of Anti-Abortion Laws

by Megan Burbank

On Oct. 2, hundreds of activists gathered in Seattle’s Westlake Park to protest Texas’ six-week abortion ban, Senate Bill 8. Similar rallies took place in every state that day, in what the Women’s March framed as a response to “the most dire threat to abortion access in our lifetime.” Nationwide messaging from the Women’s March had encouraged attendees not to bring weapons, images of wire coat hangers, or Handmaid’s Tale-inspired costumes.

Continue reading All Those ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Comparisons Ignore the Reality of Anti-Abortion Laws →
News

PHOTO ESSAY: Seattle Joins Women’s March for Abortion Rights

by Maile Anderson

People gathered across the nation to rally for basic abortion rights and access on Saturday, Oct. 2. In Seattle, the local chapter of the Women’s March (a national group based in D.C.) held a rally at Westlake Park. The protest was a response to Texas’ recent law which bans abortion after six weeks and empowers citizens to sue those who seek out or facilitate an abortion. 

Though the rally was short, the message rang loud and clear: The attacks on abortion are constant, these attacks disproportionately impact BIPOC, working-class, and poor communities, and we must keep fighting back. 

Various signs read “Bans off our Bodies” and “We Will Not Go Silently Back to the ’50s!” Many of the signs were reminiscent of slogans from the first Women’s March in 2017, which was a nationwide protest against the election of the previous president. Some at Saturday’s rally have been protesting for abortion rights since the 1970s.

Continue reading PHOTO ESSAY: Seattle Joins Women’s March for Abortion Rights →