WA Democrats include ‘devastating’ $8.5M abortion-access cut in final budget
Washington has been heralded as a leader on access to abortion care. But reproductive-rights advocates are sounding the alarm after state lawmakers approved their final budget last weekend.
The reason?
Democrats’ budget slashes $8.5 million from the Abortion Access Project, representing the largest cut to abortion access in state history, according to Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. The organization is blasting lawmakers over the “devastating” 55% cut, arguing that it will jeopardize the safety, health and autonomy of thousands of residents.
Gov. Bob Ferguson is reviewing the budget approved by lawmakers, but has yet to sign it. He said it might take weeks.
Jennifer M. Allen, CEO of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, says the abortion-access cut will deepen inequities, risk lives and burden the state’s health-care system.
The budget outcomes were rough across the board, she said, particularly for people reliant on basic state services.
“And one of the things that we certainly hoped never to see in Washington was a cut that means Washington’s going backwards on abortion access,” Allen said in an interview.
Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates is calling on Ferguson to restore the state’s abortion-access funding.
The $8.5 million cut comes at a time when the administration of President Donald Trump is working to further limit reproductive health care. To advocates such as Allen, the threat to abortion access under Trump 2.0 and the federal courts is existential.
Allen noted that Washington voters last November elected Democratic candidates who had promised to expand and protect access to abortion. Now residents are poised to lose abortion access due to the majority party’s budget, she said.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that enshrined the federal right to abortion. In the wake of that reversal, Washington’s safety-net abortion providers have logged a 23% spike in patients, according to Allen’s group.
The Abortion Access Project was created to help keep up with demand and ensure that health centers could absorb patient costs, keep their doors open and maintain staffing. But the budget could lead facilities that provide abortions to shutter.
State Sen. Manka Dhingra, a Redmond Democrat, said in an emailed statement that Washington has long led the nation in abortion access. However, it’s among many other states wrestling with a post-pandemic budget shortfall exacerbated by federal-level chaos, she said.
After Roe was overturned, Washington lawmakers made significant investments in abortion access in the 2023-25 operating budget, including in security, patient outreach and workforce recruitment and retention, Dhingra said.
“Over the last two years, providers should have brought their staffing to the levels necessary to meet increased demand,” she said. “That, paired with the budget reality we are facing, led to the proposal to eliminate the workforce retention and recruitment component of the funding.”
Washington will keep funding security and outreach, she added, plus payment for all provided reproductive services.
The state’s multi-billion-dollar budget gap meant cuts had to be made, Dhingra said, but this one was done “thoughtfully, with the goal of minimizing harm.”
“In terms of abortion funding and access, Washington remains a national leader despite this reduction,” she said. “For years, we have led the way with policies and funding to protect patients and providers from the extremist abortion laws being passed in other states.”
In a statement Thursday, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates spokesperson Jennifer Martinez said: “While we appreciate Senator Dhingra’s ongoing communication through the legislative session, this is the first time anyone is hearing her voice these concerns.”
Allen said her group is bracing for the abortion attacks outlined in Project 2025 to charge ahead, referencing the wide-ranging federal policy blueprint associated with Trump. She’d expect to see Washington work to expand access to care today given the national climate.
Allen understands that balancing this budget was a painful process for lawmakers. Still, at a moment like this, retreating from abortion care is the last thing Washington should do, she said.
“Families in our state can’t afford it, and our state can’t afford it. It’s just not right,” Allen said. “Washington is not a place where people should have to make pregnancy decisions based on what services are available instead of based on what’s right for their family.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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