Reproductive health care advocates say abortion access in Washington is newly at risk after Governor Bob Ferguson signed a budget cutting funding for the state’s Abortion Access Project by over 50 percent.
Washington’s Legislature created the Abortion Access Project in 2022 to support clinics in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, which triggered over a dozen states to impose abortion bans. The increased demand that followed has strained Washington’s reproductive health care infrastructure.
Between 2021 and 2022, Washington’s Department of Health reported close to a 22% increase in abortions provided to Washington residents, reversing a decades-long decline. Abortions provided to out-of-state residents increased by 50% following the Dobbs decision, as clinics saw more patients turn to Washington as a refuge for reproductive care.
“No matter what clinic you look at, all of the clinics are experiencing an uptick in patients from out of state seeking care,” said Sarah Prager, an OB/GYN at UW Medicine. “I have many more patients these days, whether they’re in Washington or coming from outside Washington, expressing gratitude for being able to access the care here.”
Courtney Normand, Washington state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said she and her team were blindsided by the $8.5 million cut, calling it a devastating decision with far-reaching consequences for clinics’ ability to provide care — especially for the most vulnerable patients — at a time when reproductive rights are under federal attack.
During the 2023-25 biennium, lawmakers allocated $15 million to the Abortion Access Project, with the majority of funds going to Planned Parenthood and Cedar River Clinics, which provide over 80% of the state’s abortions. Funding was designated for increasing security for clinics; for workforce development amid staffing challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; and to cover costs from rising patient demand.
“It’s had a really big impact, it’s allowed us to keep our doors open and ensure that patients have access to the care they need,” said Sarah DeVleming, health center manager at Planned Parenthood’s Spokane clinic. “Abortion rights don’t mean a lot if people can’t actually access abortion, and funding is what makes this type of health care accessible.”
In Washington, safety-net abortion providers like Planned Parenthood and Cedar River Clinics cannot turn away patients seeking an abortion because of financial constraints, being uninsured or on Medicaid or having out-of-state insurance that doesn’t cover abortion. Instead, clinics absorb these costs, and part of the Abortion Access Project funding makes up for them.
But with 55% less funding, clinics will have to shoulder more costs and ultimately make tough decisions to balance budgets with continued demand for abortion care, said Gabbi Nazari, government relations director for Pro-Choice Washington.
“If we don’t have funding, it will lead to hours being reduced, clinics closing their doors, and patients waiting longer for care or having to forgo care altogether,” Nazari said. “These cuts really are a major blow to our status as a reproductive health haven.”
Washington legislators entered the 2025 session facing an estimated $16 billion budget deficit, a shortfall that Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, chair of the Senate’s Ways and Means committee, said was larger than expected.
The House’s original budget maintained the $15 million in funding for the Abortion Access Project, but the Senate’s caucus proposed cutting it.
Robinson said she saw the Abortion Access Project as a short-term investment in the immediate aftermath of the Dobbs decision, and because the cut was made to the portion of the fund designated specifically for workforce development, she didn’t see it as something that would impact direct services.
Representative Nicole Macri, D-Seattle, said both House and Senate budget writers initially proposed budgets generating $15 to $16 billion in new taxes, including a wealth tax that would have applied to Washingtonians with more than $50 million in financial assets.
But Ferguson swiftly rejected the proposals, telling legislators they needed to immediately move in a different direction, one less reliant on new taxes. The governor dismissed the proposed wealth tax as “novel, untested, difficult to implement” and likely to face legal challenges, joining Washington business executives in opposing the measure. He ultimately approved a budget with around $9 billion in new taxes and $7 billion in cuts.
“I think the forces against the wealth tax, or any other large progressive revenue source, just became too great to overcome,” Robinson said.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports that Washington has the second most regressive tax code in the nation, taxing its poorest residents at rates averaging three times higher than those imposed on its wealthiest.
Reproductive health care advocates say progressive revenue streams like a wealth tax are the only way to ensure lawmakers aren’t cutting their way through the budget year after year. In a largely symbolic vote, Senate Democrats voted to approve the wealth tax on April 27.
“Health care access is definitely tied to the need for sustainable revenue in the state,” Macri said. “We’re going to continue to need to talk about sustainable revenue in order to make sure that we can provide full access to the health care services that Washingtonians need.”
During a press conference immediately after Gov. Ferguson signed the new budget into law, Ferguson said that while he supported the reductions in the budget, he would be reviewing the cuts made to the Abortion Access Project with his team and other stakeholders in the interim.
Next session, advocates say they’re pushing for the Legislature to restore funding to the Abortion Access Project in the supplemental budget, which makes changes to the state’s biennial budget.
“He [Gov. Ferguson] did pledge to fix the cuts to abortion care funding, but just pledging alone isn't enough; we do need action and to see results,” DeVleming said. “Washington’s always been a really proud advocate for reproductive health care, and we really would like to see that continue.”
At the local level, King County Councilmembers passed a motion, introduced by Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, to reaffirm the county’s commitment to reproductive rights by supporting clinics at the county level.
Mirroring constraints at the state level, the King County budget is facing a $150 million deficit in its general fund for 2026-27. Despite the budget shortfall, Zahilay says that over the next few months, the Council will explore new funding tools, like the new sales tax adopted in HB 2015, to help make up the cuts solidified in the state budget.
“There are a lot of people who are aware of reproductive freedom being under attack at the national level … But the thing that I want to stress to everyone is that those attacks are reaching us here in Washington,” Zahilay said. “When state and federal governments are falling short on this issue, local governments have a responsibility to lead.”
Lacy Fehrenbach, chief of prevention at the State Department of Health, says her team will work with Cedar River Clinics and Planned Parenthood to determine how best to allocate the remaining funds to meet the needs of Washingtonians.
Washington’s new budget officially takes effect on July 1.
“We’re really feeling that squeeze on our state, but very very proud to be able to be a place where folks can find the care they need,” Normand said. “We’ve got to make sure that our doors stay open for anyone who needs care, no matter where they’re from.”
