Tri-Cities Planned Parenthood preparing for an influx of out-of-state abortion patients

The Kennewick clinic of Planned Parenthood already sees the second most patients from out of state seeking abortions among the organization’s clinics in Washington and North Idaho.

Now it is expected to get even busier.

The Idaho Legislature has passed a bill modeled after a Texas law passed last year to deter abortions after about six weeks.

The Idaho law would allow family members of the fetus to sue abortion providers for a minimum of $20,000 if a heartbeat has been detected. That’s double the amount that anyone may sue an abortion provider for in Texas.

Around five or six weeks is generally when an ultrasound can pick up a so-called “fetal heartbeat,” though specialized physicians have said the sounds are more accurately described as electrical activity.

That is earlier than most people know they are pregnant, said Paul Dillon, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho.

Planned Parenthood has just three clinics among its 11 in Eastern and Central Washington to take up the increased demand for abortions from women in Idaho, particularly the state’s Boise metropolitan area, where the five Treasure Valley counties are home to about 750,000 people.

In addition to Kennewick, Planned Parenthood offers in-clinic abortions in Spokane and Yakima.

After the Texas law took effect, the first Texas patient arriving in Washington state for an in-clinic abortion came to the Kennewick clinic, Dillon said.

“If we are already seeing patients from Texas, we will see patients from Idaho,” he said.

The Kennewick clinic already sees some Idaho patients seeking abortions and many from Eastern Oregon, where the only Planned Parenthood clinic offering abortions, other than with the abortion pill, is in Bend, Dillon said.

The Idaho bill is expected to face legal challenges, including questions about whether it adheres to Idaho privacy laws.

“What this bill does is create more of a burden, especially on rural patients (and) people of low income who have to travel,” Dillon said. “Abortion is already an incredible challenge to access, especially for rural patients.”

It is not just the Idaho bill that could make the Kennewick Planned Parenthood busier.

Supreme Court abortion decision

The Kennewick clinic could see an even bigger impact than from the Idaho bill after the U.S. Supreme Court makes a decision on Roe v. Wade, likely in late June or July.

If Roe v. Wade, which found that state bans on abortion are unconstitutional, is overturned, the increase in people seeking abortions from the Kennewick clinic and other sites where in-clinic abortions are offered in Washington state could increase 385%, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice policy and research organization.

It bases that percentage on a total ban of abortions in Idaho and Montana, making Washington the closest state offering in-clinic abortions.

Idaho already has a “trigger law” to ban abortions that would take effect 30 days after Roe v. Wade is overturned, Dillon said.

Washington state has legal protections for abortions, including legalizing abortion after a 1970 ballot measure and codifying Roe v. Wade into the state Constitution after a 1991 ballot measure.

On Thursday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill into law that further confirms that, “Washington is a welcoming state for anyone who needs abortion care,” Dillon said.

The bill, which prohibits legal action against people seeking an abortion and those who aid them, is a move designed to rebut recent actions by conservative states.

“We know this bill is necessary because this is a perilous time for the ability of people to have the freedom of choice that they have enjoyed for decades,” said Inslee.

Planned Parenthood also is counting on the new law to help it prepare for an influx of out-of-state patients by expanding staffing at its Kennewick and other Eastern Washington clinics that offer in-clinic abortions, Dillon said.

Washington abortion law

House Bill 1851, called the Affirm Washington Abortion Access Act, makes clear that advanced practice clinicians such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants can perform in-clinic abortions in Washington state.

The bill had the support of ACLU of Washington, the American College of Nurse Midwives — Washington, Pro Choice Washington, the Washington State Nurses Association and Kaiser Permanent, according to Planned Parenthood.

Two Washington attorney general opinions already allow certain non-physicians to perform abortions, and some of those providers have been doing so for many years.

Having increased legal protection with the new Washington state law could make more non-physician providers available, helping ease the expected abortion backlog expected to result from an in-flux of out-of-state patients.

“For Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho we are going to do everything we can to provide safe and legal abortion to every patient who seeks one,” Dillon said. “We are committed to ensuring that everyone who wants one has access to abortion regardless of where they live.”

The Idaho Statesman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 12:38 PM.