Gov. Jay Inslee announced legislation he’ll seek to guarantee abortion access in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the national right to abortion and sent the matter to the states.
Inslee, speaking at the Campus Services Building at Western Washington University in Bellingham, described new laws that would be proposed if the Democratic Party keeps control of the Legislature.
Several Democratic legislators joined Inslee on Friday, Oct. 21, including state Senate Deputy Majority Leader Manka Dhingra, D-45th, Rep. Vandana Slatter, D-48th, and Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-42nd.
Shewmake, a House member since 2018 who’s challenging state Sen. Simon Sefzik on the Nov. 8 ballot, has criticized his stance on abortion rights.
Washington state has strong abortion-rights laws, but the subject has been a key issue for Democrats in legislative races as Republicans seek control of the Legislature.
Nowhere is that more important than Whatcom County’s 42nd Legislative District, where Democrats are trying to hold the 42nd’s two House seats and flip the Senate seat in a swing district that’s split between urban Bellingham and rural northern Whatcom County.
In a statement before his visit, Inslee said that protecting abortion access and reproductive health became a key issue for Democrats in June when the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade and set off a series of abortion bans in Republican-controlled states across the nation.
