Conservatives may be in the minority here in Washington state, but we can use our influence to stop more bad policy from being enacted. Be sure to follow our call to action at the end of this article.
*Updated 8.10.23
In the 2023 legislative session, Washington Democrats proposed SJR (senate joint resolution) 8202 to amend the state constitution to include abortion as a protected right. This bill was heard in committee but did not advance through the legislature in this year’s session. It would take 2/3 majority in the state legislature to put the measure of amending the state constitution on the ballot for a vote of the people.
On August 8, 2023 in Ohio voters ovewhelmingly rejected Issue 1 which would have required a 60% approval of the people to amend the state constitution to include abortion. With the failure of Issue 1, this will undoubtedly embolden other pro-abortion states like Washington to move forward in advance their agendas.
We anticipate SJR will be revisited in the 2024 Washington legislative session and we encourage you to continue to take the call to action at the bottom of this article.
Last month, Jay Inslee, along with fellow radical left Democrat legislators held a press conference to announce some of their agenda items for the 2023 legislative session. At the top of the list, of course, is a constitutional amendment that would establish a fundamental right to abortion and a fundamental right to choose or refuse contraception.
If you’ve been paying attention to Washington state policy, this should come as no surprise. Abortion has been a top issue for radical left democrats nationwide, but especially here in Washington. Last session, the legislature passed HB-1851, also called the “Affirm WA Abortion Access Act”, which updated the existing law with gender neutral language (because it’s 2022 and even men can have babies) and allowed for other providers to perform abortion without liability. Essentially, a woman can get an abortion in Washington state at any time during the pregnancy for any reason. There are no legal limitations.
But that didn’t stop Washington democrats from making abortion their top issue for the midterm elections. They used the overturning of Roe v Wade to scare voters into thinking that abortion could be restricted or even outlawed in Washington. The whole point of overturning Roe was to turn the issue of abortion back over to the states, where Washington laws are already very clearly pro-abortion. Admittedly, Republicans did not do a good job of messaging around this and speaking to the fears of pro-choice voters.
In a strategically timed press conference just two weeks before the midterm election, Jay Inslee said: “Access to a woman’s right of choice is a health care issue. Health care must remain the providence of individual Washington women. These laws will keep the tentacles of restrictive states out of Washington.”
Representative Drew Hansen (D) shared about a sanctuary policy that would “protect patients from states like Texas and Idaho from being punished for lawfully seeking and receiving legal health care services in Washington state.”
“If other states are going to be creative and aggressive in making anti-choice laws, we will be creative and aggressive in fighting back,” said Hansen. “We are going to use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive rights in our state.”
The proposed policy will also include protections for gender affirming care. This would allow for minor children to be able to receive puberty blocking hormones and “gender affirming surgery”, which, is the mutilation of a healthy child.
At the press conference last month, Inslee also announced that he was making $1 million in emergency funds available for “reproductive care clinics” and he issued a directive to the Washington State Patrol to refuse to cooperate with any investigatory requests related to abortion that would come from other states. This was purely theatrics as women in America are free to move about the country for any reason they please. No one is being prosecuted for having abortions in states where it is legal.
The democrats have a majority in Washington state, and they will be able to push through many destructive policies on their agenda. However, an amendment would require two-thirds of the state House and two-thirds of the state Senate. That would require several Republican legislators to jump on board with this pro-abortion policy.
TAKE ACTION: Email your Republican representative today and let them know you do NOT want them to vote to pass a constitutional amendment to codify abortion and gender-affirming care. Respectfully ask them to respond to your request for their commitment to vote no. BONUS: Tell 5 friends to do the same thing.
Use this link to find your district and representatives. Then you can click on each representative to get their email address. Washington State Legislature There is some shifting now after the election, but it doesn’t hurt to email the reps that are there now. We will send another call to action after the new legislature is sworn in.
We may be in the minority, but we can use our voices to have influence and prevent more destruction. Please act today!
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