Updated for 2023 by Megan Burbank
Previous reporting from Jessie McKenna and Marti McKenna

Between the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health and anti-abortion restrictions that preceded it, it’s a challenging time to be a person seeking abortion care. But Washington diverged from national trends toward anti-abortion legislation before Roe was overturned, and more policies are on the table for 2023 to preserve access to reproductive health care in our state. Here, the right to an abortion is part of our state’s legal code, coverage for abortion is available whether you’re on state Medicaid or private insurance, and new policies are slated to be introduced at the state legislature this session that would prohibit copays for abortion, protect patients’ data privacy, and shield abortion providers from out-of-state lawsuits. But that doesn’t mean timely access to abortion in Washington is guaranteed. In fact, as other states move to ban and restrict abortion in the wake of Roe’s reversal, the added strain on Northwest providers means patients here may encounter delays in care.