OPINION | Why the Idea of 'Safe States' for Abortion Is a Myth

by Gina Petry

Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, there is a lot of talk about which states are "safe" for people seeking abortions and reproductive care. Those who are caught in anti-abortion states are often advised to seek help elsewhere or move away.

As a longtime reproductive justice activist, I'm here to tell you the idea of "safe states" when it comes to abortion is a myth.

I live in Washington State, where abortion is ostensibly secure and there is a strong history of victories for reproductive rights. In 1970, it became the first and only state to legalize abortion by popular vote, three years before Roe v. Wade. This fight was initiated by Women of Color in antipoverty programs working with members of Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party.

In 1991, Washington voters passed a law that further strengthened a person's right to terminate a pregnancy any time before the fetus is considered viable, meaning when it can survive outside the womb. That's a gestational age of about 24 weeks. Washington law also allows pregnancies to be terminated even later if doing so would protect the health or life of the birth parent. Unlike other states, Washington allocates state Medicaid funding for abortion.

But this proud history matters less in 2024, where even in states like Washington, access to abortion is woefully fractured. The advocacy group Pro-Choice Washington reports that since the 1990s, more than 60% of abortion clinics in the Pacific Northwest have closed because of rising financial costs and extreme harassment.

Access is especially difficult in Central and Eastern Washington, where few clinics are available. According to the Guttmacher Institute, in 2017, nearly 59% of Washington counties had no clinics that provided abortions. Recent studies show that open clinics have seen a 50% increase in out-of-state patients seeking abortions.

Additionally, close to half of the state's hospital beds are in Catholic-affiliated facilities, where the teachings of the Church restrict abortion, certain fertility treatments, contraception, and gender-affirming care. This is especially problematic in outlying areas, where there is often just a single hospital serving a large area. People seeking banned treatments may be forced to travel significant distances to get help. State legislative attempts to increase oversight of hospitals and protect reproductive rights have failed to pass.

At the same time, there is good news. Support for abortion rights in Washington is strong. Many of us know our bodies are on the line now, and we can't stand by until our relatively protected status vanishes. My group, Puget Sound Mobilization for Reproductive Justice, has been organizing for a few years. One area where we have had great success is the involvement of organized labor, which is largely due to major pushes by rank-and-file members to urge their leadership to take action.

It is important to understand that reproductive health care, in all its aspects, is a labor issue. If we cannot control when and if we can safely have children, we cannot plan for education, employment, and more.

This is why Puget Sound Mobilization has been involved in the call from the National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice to work with unions to take coordinated national action in defense of abortion. The AFL-CIO, the leading representative of working people in the United States, has the potential to mobilize people by the millions to act on their own behalf. It would make a huge impact and embolden the majority around the country who support the right to abortion.

Entrenched opponents of people's right to control their bodies will never be reconciled to ending gender oppression and will resort to violence to hold back progress. Many of them are enemies of progress for People of Color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and unions. We must stand and fight together and win back our rights — for everyone, not just those who live in "safe states."

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Gina Petry is a Seattle-based activist on the Steering Committee of the Puget Sound Mobilization for Reproductive Justice and organizer for Radical Women. Contact her at pugetsoundmobe@gmail.com. Sign the open letter to AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler at TinyURL.com/Letter2AFLCIO.

📸 Featured Image: Seattle Women's March Rally for Reproductive Rights on Oct. 2, 2021. (Photo: Maile Anderson)