Washington Democrats Propose 55% Cut To Abortion Access Funds Amid National Attack On Reproductive Justice

Democrats Could Help Trump Roll Back Abortion Access

As the Washington State Legislature’s budgetary bloodbath barrels on behind the scenes, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates has the unenviable task of begging the Democratic trifecta to put their money where their mouth is on reproductive healthcare.

Senate Democrats quietly proposed a shameful 55% cut to abortion access funding in their budget, leaving just $7 million for the 2026–2027 biennium to cover a critical healthcare service in a state that prides itself on being pro-choice. With the Trump administration already training its crosshairs on reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates CEO Jennifer M. Allen argues it's incumbent on the State Legislature—and Governor Bob Ferguson—to bolster funding for abortion, not sacrifice it on the altar of anti-tax orthodoxy.

"We know the legislature and Governor Ferguson have difficult decisions to make, but you cannot close a $15 billion gap with an $8.5 million cut," Allen said in a press release. "Lawmakers and Governor Ferguson must reject these cuts and fully fund abortion access in the final budget. The future of abortion access and safety net health care depends on real, innovative, and sustainable revenue solutions.”

If the Legislature fails to restore funding, Allen warned, Washington would be “helping Trump to cut access to abortion care.”

“That’s not who we are in Washington, and that can’t happen,” she said at a press conference Tuesday morning. “We can’t go there.”

Allen described the potential consequences of the 55% cut as “devastating and life-threatening.” Clinics could close. Staff could be laid off. And patients—the ones everyone claims to care about—could be denied care at the moment they need it most.

Since the fall of Roe, Washington, a self-declared abortion safe haven, has seen a sharp rise in out-of-state patients—primarily from the hostile territories of Texas and Alaska—traveling here for care. A recent study of Cedar River Clinics found a 50% increase in non-resident patients and a growing backlog that now delays abortions by about a week for everyone.

“We’re at risk of cutting funding when I see every day that the need is increasing,” said Brita Lund, the Northgate Health Center Manager. “It’s just wild to me.”

The potential cut comes as a particularly brutal betrayal after Ferguson used abortion access as a wedge issue to differentiate himself from his Republican competitor Dave Riechert in his recent gubernatorial bid. But things have certainly changed since Ferguson initially branded himself as the best nerd to go toe-to-toe with the big, bad Trump administration. Last week, Ferguson said that the Democrats need to make even deeper cuts in their budget, which already slashed $4 billion in spending. He argued that the best way to prepare for the wrath of DOGE and Trump’s retaliatory cuts is to avoid new taxes. Ferguson’s argument ignores the fact that the legislature would impose new taxes on the wealthy to save union jobs and the critical services that make up the State’s social safety net, the exact stuff working class people need to weather whatever economic hell storm Trump unleashes. 

Luckily, the State House proposed a budget that maintains the previous funding levels for abortion access. If you want to see the state adopt that proposal — which still does not actually fund the growing need — Allen said you should call your state lawmakers as well as chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee Sen. June Robinson, House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Timm Ormsby, Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee Sen. Annett Cleveland, and House Health Care & Wellness Committee Chair Rep. Dan Bronoske.