(Oregon Right to Life) — Washington state lawmakers late last month approved a new budget that will cut millions of dollars in taxpayer funding from the state’s abortion funding program. Pro-life advocates are celebrating the news, predicting that unborn lives will be saved.
The $77.8 billion two-year budget, finalized by state lawmakers on April 26th, will lower funding for the state’s Abortion Access Project by 55%, an $8.5 million cut. The Abortion Access Project was launched in 2022 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
The biennial budget is slated to take effect July 1.
The move has come as something of a surprise in Washington, where elective abortion is fully legal up to 24 weeks gestation and abortions are permitted later in pregnancy if it is determined that a woman’s “life or health” is endangered. Earlier this year, the newly elected Democratic governor immediately signed an executive order directing the state Department of Health to work alongside medical providers, policy makers, and others to “recommend strategies for protecting reproductive health care [sic]” in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election, KOIN reported.
News of the abortion program cuts comes as Washington recently passed legislation expanding its already-radical abortion landscape, LifeNews reported. SB 5093, which has been sent to the governor’s desk and now awaits a signature, would amend the law to remove stillbirths, premature infant deaths, and abortions from the jurisdiction of coroners.
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Meanwhile, pro-life advocates are celebrating Washington’s new budget, expressing optimism that the funding reduction will save unborn lives – an outcome seemingly acknowledged by pro-abortion activists as well.
In a press release, Pro-Choice Washington said the budget cut “will have an immediate impact on residents of Washington and out-of-state patients and their ability to access affordable abortion care [sic].”
And pro-life groups are reportedly wasting no time ensuring women in Washington have access to life-affirming alternatives to abortion.
LifeNews noted that “pro-life groups are already mobilizing to build on this momentum,” with some “advocating for increased funding for” pro-life pregnancy resource centers, “which offer counseling, ultrasounds, and material support” for moms and families dealing with unsupported or otherwise challenging pregnancies.
Oregon Right to Life believes in the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Abortion ends the life of a genetically distinct, growing human being. We oppose abortion at any point of gestation. Read the full statement and all our position statements here.
