‘5 alarm fire.’ Tri-Cities rally planned. Democrats react to draft abortion decision

Tri-Cities area residents opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade will rally Wednesday evening in Richland.

While a final opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court has not been issued on a challenge to the 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide, a leaked draft opinion indicates the court is preparing to give states the authority to prohibit abortions.

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.

In March, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee further strengthened the state’s stand by signing a bill into law confirming that “Washington is a welcoming state for anyone who needs abortion care,” according to Planned Parenthood. The bill prohibits legal action against people seeking an abortion and those who aid them.

But Planned Parenthood has said previously that overturning Roe v. Wade would likely increase demand for abortions at its Kennewick office from residents of Idaho.

Idaho is one of the states that has a “trigger law,” a law already on the books that would make performing an abortion a felony if states regain the authority to prohibit abortions.

Washington state Democrats were quick to condemn the draft opinion.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee planned to attend a pro-choice protest Tuesday afternoon in Seattle along with state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

Supreme Court ‘declares war’

“If the report we saw last night is true — that the Supreme Court plans to end the constitutional right to abortion in this country and overturn Roe v. Wade — this is a five-alarm fire,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

In a matter of weeks, the United States could become a country where women pregnant through rape or incest are forced to remain pregnant and where “extreme politicians will control patients’ most private decisions,” she said.

A ruling against Roe v. Wade will not end abortions, just make them unsafe, particularly for low-income women, she said.

Chris Reykdal, the Washington state superintendent of public instruction, said that if the Supreme Court opinion stands it will limit the education and career opportunities of young women.

Students may come to school wanting to discuss the draft opinion, and he encourages educators to create safe spaces for open and respectful dialogue, he said.

“We teach our students the value of having differing opinions and viewpoints, and how our differences contribute to a healthy democracy,” he said.

The Tri-Cities rally on May 4 is being organized by Tri-Cities Womxn’s March and the Eastern Washington Party for Socialism and Liberation. It’s planned for 6 p.m. at John Dam Plaza in Richland.

“Supreme Court declares war on women and abortion rights — Take to the streets!” posted the Party for Socialism and Liberation on Facebook.

“Neither the church nor the state has the right to tell women what we can do with our own bodies,” it posted.

Every person, regardless of which state they live in, should have the right to choose their pregnancy plan, said Kauser Gwaduri, co-director of the Tri-Cities Womxn’s March.

“Washingtonians before have fought for our state to have these rights, and our legislatures listened,” she said. “It’s now time to use our voice and presence to let legislatures across the country know that we stand for reproductive rights.”

Friends of Richland Pregnancy Services posted that whatever the Supreme Court’s final opinion, women will continue to face unexpected pregnancies and will still need help.

“They may be facing them with a new desperation because this is a generation that has been told, throughout their entire lives, that they have a ‘right’ to abortion,” it posted to Facebook.

“Richland Pregnancy Services will still be here fighting for them, praying for them, walking beside them as they watch, in their own lives, how God can take the unplanned and make it into the beautiful story of a life,” it posted.

Tri-Cities Planned Parenthood

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, according to Planned Parenthood.

Overturning Roe v. Wade would only increase that, it said.

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 Texas passed a law last year to deter abortions after about six weeks, the first Texas patient arriving in Washington state for an in-clinic abortion came to the Kennewick clinic, Paul Dillon, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, told the Tri-City Herald in March.

“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.

Planned Parenthood now 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.

However, The Associated Press reported last month that Planned Parenthood is renting medical office space in Ontario, Ore., on the Oregon-Idaho border about an hour’s drive from Boise.

Planned Parenthood has not confirmed its plans for the office.

This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 12:35 PM.