Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered state police not to comply with out-of-state agency requests for information on patients’ abortions in a bid to make the Evergreen State a “sanctuary” for the medical procedure.
The directive came in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade and ending the decades-long constitutional protection for abortions. Several Republican-led states have trigger laws that will now bar abortions or severely restrict access to them.
“Washington is and will remain a sanctuary for any person seeking abortion care and services in our state, but we must act to protect our rights and our values,” Mr. Inslee, a Democrat, wrote in the directive. “To that end, it is critical that our law enforcement agencies not cooperate in any manner with any out-of-state investigation, prosecution, or other legal action based on another state’s law that is inconsistent with Washington’s protections of the right to choose abortion and provide abortion-related care.”
Some states’ abortion restrictions allow women to be criminally charged for the procedure including if they travel to another state to have the procedure, a move that Mr. Inslee hopes to prevent by refusing to disclose abortion-related information to other states.
Mr. Inslee also advocated for an amendment to the state’s constitution to ensure the right to an abortion, but that would require action from the state legislature.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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