Abortion is illegal, expensive, and dangerous. Before Roe v. Wade, abortion care in Washington State depended on wealth and connections. Residents could obtain a legal, ‘therapeutic’ abortion by convincing a hospital committee of male physicians that an abortion was medically necessary.

Two Washington women die from unsafe, illegal abortions in two months. Raisa Trytiak, a 24- year-old Seattle woman was found dead in a garbage dump after a dangerous, illegal  abortion on February 7, 1967. One month later, 22-year old Elizabeth Zach Stanley was found dead in Olympia.

Following Trytiak and Stanley’s tragic deaths, a reform movement began to build. Dr. Samuel Goldenberg was a Seattle psychologist who referred pregnant patients to hospital committees responsible for approving therapeutic abortions. In 1968, he created the ‘Citizens’ Abortion Study Group’, a place for reformers to meet and discuss abortion.

Several years before the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, Washington becomes the fourth state to legalize abortion. On November 3, 1970, voters passed ‘Referendum 20’ which was passed into the law the following month.

Local chapters for abortion advocates begin to form after  ‘Referendum 20’  becomes law.  The slogan, ‘Let Each Family Have the Right to Decide’, made the case that abortion access was a common sense health measure.

Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion across the United States. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision which ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction, under the Fourteenth Amendment’s ‘right to privacy’.

Our founding organization, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, is established as a leading political advocacy group for abortion rights.

NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Foundation is founded to support reproductive freedom advocacy, movement building, voter education, and research.

Freedom of Choice Act, the right to abortion, codified in Washington State. The people of Washington passed ballot measure ‘Initiative 120’, to place the standards of the Supreme Court decision into state law.

Washington State legislature passes the Healthy Youth Act. In the 2007 legislative session, lawmakers passed the Healthy Youth Act to ensure sexual health education taught in schools was medically accurate.

The number of abortion clinics in Washington state begins to decline. Three clinics closed in Washington between 2011 and 2016. Between the years 2008 and 2011, for every three closures of independent abortion healthcare clinics in conservative states, two such clinics closed in liberal states.

The Reproductive Parity Act (RPA) requires all insurance plans in Washington state that cover maternity care to also cover abortions. The Washington legislature passes it the Reproductive Parity Act.

Washington passes Reproductive Health Access for All Act. 430,000 people were being denied access to government-funded contraceptive services and supplies in Washington. Washington state legislators introduced a bill to ensure every person in the state had access to comprehensive care, no matter their race, gender, sexuality, or income.

Pro-Choice Washington establishes their independence from NARAL and becomes the only independent advocacy organization in Washington state to focus on abortion access and reproductive freedom. Our mission is simple: every person deserves equitable access to reproductive health care.

Roe v. Wade is overturned, ending federal protections for abortion rights. 24 US states enact trigger bans on abortion. In the first legislative session following the fall of Roe, Pro-Choice Washington activists work to pass four best-in-the-nation bills protecting abortion access and privacy for patients and providers.

After several years of regionalizing its team across the state, Pro-Choice Washington officially became Northwest Reproductive Equity. With a focus in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, Northwest Reproductive Equity reflects the growing need to have an impact for abortion seekers and providers in the Northwest.