State should make itself a haven for abortion care
By Marshall F. Goldberg / For The Herald
Washington should become a sanctuary for those denied reproductive freedom in other states.
It already leads the nation when it comes to being proactive in response to the recent devastating reversal of Roe v. Wade. Thanks to the foresight of the governor, and the Legislature, steps have been taken to ensure the availability of mifepristone, the medication used in half of the nation’s induced abortions, and to “shield” abortion care providers in Washington from prosecution by states that ban or severely prohibit such practice.
Washington has a long and strong history of paving the way for reproductive choice. In 1970 with Referendum 20, it became one of the first states before Roe v. Wade to decriminalize abortion. In 1991 Initiative 120 was passed which ensured that the “state may not deny or interfere with a pregnant individual’s right to choose to have an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or to protect her life or health.” In 2018 The Reproductive Parity Act became law, which specified that health plans may not limit abortion services, and that if health coverage included maternity care, it must also provide coverage permitting abortion. In 2022 The Affirm Washington Abortion Access Act was passed, which expanded the list of providers statutorily authorized to terminate pregnancies and ensured that abortion care providers would be able to serve any person who came to the state of Washington seeking abortion services.
My history as an obstetrician-gynecologist dates to the start of the Roe v. Wade era with the beginning of my clinical training in July of 1973. I was among the first resident physicians in the country to be formally trained in first and second trimester pregnancy termination techniques. Care for abortion patients was considered essential by my program director. Every resident was expected to participate at some level because patients with miscarriages — i.e., spontaneous abortions — would be seen in an OB-GYN practice, and it was important to know how to manage them. Because of Roe v. Wade, I would not see a single patient suffer the deadly consequences of a septic illegal abortion, either in my residency or in all the years of my clinical practice.
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