Washington State faces threat of white nationalism, lawsuits against providers
Pro-Choice Washington one of the main organizations leading abortion rights cause
Washington State may have among the greatest legal protections for abortion access of any commonwealth in the United States. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges or threats that pro-choice groups there have to deal with.
I spoke with Kia Guarino, executive director for Pro-Choice Washington. Guarino said they have to deal with white supremacists, abortion training issues and the legal liability faced by abortion providers who treat women who come from places where abortion has been regulated by the possibility of a lawsuit.
“We saw a significant increase in patients coming from across the country into our state,” Guarino said. “And we're predicted to see a lot more,” she said.
“So this has created a couple of other challenges that we're working to address.”
The Pacific Northwest is considered the birthplace of modern white nationalism. They have been emboldened by the Dobbs decision. Many white nationalists believe there is a conspiracy to limit the birth of white babies because of a desire by abortion providers to turn the country over to minorities that have a higher birth rate.
“We definitely see that there is an intersecting agenda, specifically around restrictions around bodily autonomy, and what the white nationalist agenda,” Guarino said. “And that has always been true for decades, that has been sort of a core tenant to the anti-abortion movement.”
Abortion training is an issue because a lot of medical schools don’t educate OB/GYNs about how to perform one.
“There are fewer and fewer medical schools that really provide detailed training and abortion care,” Guarino said. “And it's the only health issue where that's an option.”
The legal liability abortion providers face is something I wrote about when I interviewed Greer Donley, an expert on abortion and the law. Because of the laws that were passed in places like Texas, people who seek abortions elsewhere may be sued under that state’s jurisdiction. Pro-Choice Washington is working to pass legislation that would shield people from those types of torts.
“The work that we're doing in Washington to try to create basic protections and to actually get at some of these really harmful barriers that still exist in one of the most protected states in the country requires long-term investment and long-term sustained movement building,” Guarino said.