An op-ed by Interim Executive Director Sami Alloy
Since Donald Trump was re-elected, widespread fear has taken hold of abortion rights supporters that a national abortion ban is on the horizon. Such a ban would end abortion access even in abortion haven states like Washington and Oregon.
This concern is well-founded. During his last administration, Donald Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices. They paved the way for the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
However, fear about the looming threat of a national abortion ban shouldn’t distract us from the more immediate threats that are unfolding in real time.
Eroding protections for trans communities
Donald Trump and his appointees, including Elon Musk, are showing us how they plan to dismantle abortion access and reproductive autonomy. And they’ve already started doing it to the trans community.
On January 28th Donald Trump issued an executive order stating that health care institutions must stop performing gender-affirming care for youth under the age of 19. If not, they risk losing federal funding, including Medicare and Medicaid.
In a similar order the following week, the administration barred educational institutions from allowing trans women and girls from competing in sports.
These orders were swiftly blocked by judges, including in Washington, but many communities experienced the repercussions immediately. Seattle Children’s Hospital responded to the order by immediately removing gender affirming care appointments from their online patient portal. This sowed fear and confusion among patients, parents and providers.
The NCAA preemptively complied with the order on sports. The organization removed athletes from their athletic programs and are sending a harmful message to campus communities that trans women are unequal and dispensable.
Losing federal funds
Anti-abortion conservatives laid out their playbook for dismantling abortion in stark detail in Project 2025. In it, they state “HHS (The Department of Health and Human Services) should use every available tool, including the cutting of funds, to ensure that every state reports exactly how many abortions take place within its borders, at what gestational age of the child [sic], for what reason, the mother’s [sic] state of residence, and by what method.”
Our movement must be prepared for the withdrawal of federal funds. They want to sow chaos and confusion to impact our reproductive health providers. We cannot let our overwhelm at the prospect of a national ban paralyze us from actions we can take today. Those actions may protect funding for abortion and reproductive health care.
Funding in Washington must start now
This legislative session, Washington faces a budget shortfall that could lead to $3.5 billion in budget cuts to health care. That would be a catastrophic mistake. There should be no cuts to health care for people, providers, or services.
Progressive revenue is the solution, and it’s popular with voters. Most Washingtonians understand that as the world has changed, the state’s tax code has not kept up.
Wealthy individuals and corporations enjoy living in our beautiful Pacific Northwest region. But they do not contribute what they owe to our communities. The top 1% of earners in Washington benefit from one of the lowest tax rates in the country. This allows their wealth to grow exponentially all while our legislature considers deep cuts to vital programs for tens of thousands of Washingtonians.
Washington’s pro-rights lawmakers are keen to show voters how they align with pro-reproductive freedom values. This is how!
The best way lawmakers can protect abortion access in Washington right now is to make everyone pay what they truly owe to our communities. This will ensure that providers can continue to do their work by shoring up funding and protections for clinics.
Abortion rights activists must call on our state lawmakers and ask them to support progressive revenue reform. In doing so, we can address our state’s upside-down tax code that leads to chronic budgetary shortfalls for essential health care services.
We can’t afford to wait for another crisis on the scale of the Dobbs decision to move us to action. If we do, it will be too late.
