This browser does not support the Video element.
WA amendment looks to protect abortions, gender-affirming care
Washington Senate Democrats are proposing an amendment to enshrine abortion and gender-affirming car access in the state constitution.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - State Senate Democrats are proposing a constitutional amendment to enshrine access to abortion and gender-affirming care. They say the move is necessary to protect what is already in state law, while Republican opponents say the measure goes beyond what is already on the books.
Senate Joint Resolution 8204 would put to voters an amendment to say the state "shall not deny or interfere" with a person’s decisions around reproductive health, whether that be abortions, fertility treatments or contraception. The constitution would also say the state will not "deny or interfere with an individual's gender-affirming care decisions."
Washington Senator Braun and Senator Slatter
What they're saying:
Prime sponsor Vandana Slatter, D-Bellevue, said people have a right to reproductive healthcare and gender-affirming care. And while Washington has some of the strongest protections in those areas, she said they ultimately need to be constitutionally protected.
"We don’t know if that could change. Especially when you see attacks at the federal level and states across the country," the King County senator said. "So this simply puts our state laws, and allows these protections already, into the constitution."
Senate Joint Resolution 8204
The other side:
Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said protections to the procedures are not under attack and the legislation tries to "solve a problem that frankly doesn’t exist."
Braun said Republicans, even if they disagree, have accepted public support for current law – which allows for abortions up until the viability of the fetus or to protect the life of the pregnant person. But he argued the amendment goes way beyond the current standard.
"This allows abortion right up until the date of birth, that’s a very controversial position," the Republican leader said. "It also adds in access to gender care. And it doesn’t define it at all – which means anything that somebody wants it to mean. And it puts no age restriction on it."
Braun also believes the proposal ties back to the fight over parents' involvement in their children’s health care decisions.
"I think that they continue to be very disrespectful of parents’ rights," he said. "And frankly, I think they’re reading the public wrong."
Slatter said current laws around gender-affirming care decisions have considerations for age and follow medical practices.
While the amendment offers the opportunity for a conversation around gender-affirming care and abortion, Slatter ultimately argued action needs to be taken because "our private healthcare decisions need to be protected."
"In our state laws, we’ve had these discussions," she said "We’ve passed these laws. Over and over, voters have supported these policies.
The resolution would need a two-thirds vote of both the Senate and the House before the amendment would be sent to voters.
Slatter said it would need Republican votes to pass the legislature, but Braun said he has "no reason to believe there’s any support on the Republican side."
If passed by both chambers, the amendment would be placed on the November ballot and require a simple majority of voters to pass.
Albert James is a television reporter covering state government as part of the Murrow News Fellowship program – a collaborative effort between news outlets statewide and Washington State University.
The Source: Information for this article comes from the Olympia News Bureau.
MORE TOP STORIES FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
Gov. Ferguson details $4 billion in spending cuts to address WA deficit
Parents petition to remove WA substitute principal after past admissions of drug use
‘Oops I did a crime’: WA high school teacher charged with child porn
First WA measles case of 2025 confirmed in King County infant
3.2 magnitude earthquake rocks east King County, WA
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.