Planned Parenthood Votes! Washington

Get more in-depth information about current reproductive health and rights issues…

In 2007 Washington's legislature tried to fund services with a biennial allocation of $5 million for family planning. Unfortunately, with a minimum gap of $8 million per year, this funding was spent in the first year of the biennium with a gap still remaining, and no funding is available for the second year. $8 Million in supplemental budget funding for family planning is essential to maintain services for low-income Washingtonians.

Approximately 54% of pregnancies are unintended in Washington, according to DOH. If 54% of those Washingtonians no longer covered by Take Charge become pregnant, it could result in $125.8 million in costs for pregnancy care. Covering a minimum level of family planning services for those no longer covered by Take Charge would cost only $8 million per year.

Washington's family planning problem is larger than this year's budget. Family planning is basic health care, and yet it is often left out of discussions on the health care safety net. When some women must become pregnant before qualifying for publicly funded services, there's clearly a problem. Washington needs standards, for who is eligible for family planning assistance, and what services are covered.

In 2007 the Washington State Legislature passed the Healthy Youth Act to ensure quality sexual health education that includes medically accurate information about both abstinence and contraception. Washington's Department of Health received $814,633 in Title V abstinence-only federal funding in 2007. The requirements tied to these funds have become more stringent. Teaching abstinence only, to the exclusion of other information, is now inconsistent with our new state law.

Governors from 15 States have publicly rejected Title V Federal Funding, while Washington's law does not allow for thoughtful decision making based on current research. Both Congress and the United States Government Accountability Office have studied abstinence-only programs funded with Title V federal dollars and found that they do not delay sexual activity or reduce rates of pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.

SB 6305/HB 2698 would simply change Washington's law from saying we "shall" apply for Title V funds to say we "may" apply, preserving our commitment to use federal programs when they make sense for Washington, but releasing us from mandatory compliance with changeable federal requirements.

April 12th, 2007: Board of Pharmacy votes to ensure patients will have their prescriptions filled without discrimination or delay.

July 25, 2007: Two pharmacists and a pharmacy owner sue the Board of Pharmacy, the Department of Health and the Human Rights Commission claiming the rules violate their First Amendment guaranteed freedom of religion.

July 26, 2007: The rules go into effect.

August 10, 2007: Planned Parenthood of Western Washington, the Northwest Women's Law Center and ACLU Washington move to intervene on behalf of seven Washington citizens.

November 8, 2007: Judge Leighton issues a preliminary injunction, which prevents the rules from taking effect.

December 10, 2007: State agencies and the intervenors appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Board of Pharmacy rules adopted in April of 2007 support the rights of patients to be able to receive health care without discrimination or delay. The rules allow a pharmacy owner to accommodate an individual pharmacist's personal belief so long as the patient is able to receive their medication on-site, without delay. The rules also state that a pharmacist may not: discriminate against a patient; harass or intimidate a patient; violate a patient's privacy; or destroy or refuse to return a prescription.

The rules are constitutional and the goal of protecting public health is legitimate. This ruling is preliminary and we are confident that once the judge has heard all the evidence he will conclude the rules are constitutional. In Washington, individuals have a fundamental right to choose or refuse contraception. That right is meaningless without access. There is a very real problem with access, particularly in rural areas.

This is about access to all medications. Patients have been denied access to a variety of drugs in Washington, including antibiotics, antidepressants and syringes for a diabetic. Many drugs are time-sensitive (including EC) and therefore any delay in access could render the drug less effective or ineffective thereby creating a risk of harm to patients.

Planned Parenthood, the world's oldest and largest not-for-profit reproductive health care organization, is dedicated to the principle that every individual has a fundamental right to decide when and whether to become a parent. In 1970, Washington State emerged as a leader in protecting women's health and equality by being one of the first states in the nation to legalize abortion. In 1973, the Supreme Court followed suit by legalizing abortion throughout the United States with the Roe v. Wade decision.

The Court concluded that the U.S. Constitution guaranteed a right to privacy that "is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy." Under Roe, women have a constitutionally protected right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy before fetal viability, or at any point if necessary to preserve her life or health. The decision in Roe built on earlier Supreme Court decisions establishing the right to privacy with respect to medical decisions affecting reproductive health, like birth control and sterilization.

Planned Parenthood believes that women have the right to obtain a confidential, medically safe, legal abortion under the standards set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade decision.

The United States Congress has used its funding powers to single out certain classes of women (low-income women, federal employees, military personnel serving overseas, residents of the District of Columbia, and women in federal prisons) and restrict their access to legal abortions because their health care is funded in part by the federal government.

Even though the federal government excludes abortion from covered services in the Medicaid program, Washington State has ensured that financial hardship is not an obstacle to accessing safe abortion care by providing state dollars to pay for abortion care under its Medicaid program.Planned Parenthood believes that no woman should be denied abortion services and the ability to decide when and whether to become a parent solely because of her economic circumstance. Planned Parenthood supports continued access to abortion services in Washington State for women who otherwise could not afford them.