Washington state has some of the least restrictive abortion laws in the nation, coming in next to last on a state-by-state study compiled by the Guttmacher Institute.
Only Oregon, which has no restrictions on
abortion, comes after Washington, The Washington Post reported.
Washington also maintains a Freedom of Choice Act, which would protect abortion rights even in the event that the federal law, Roe v. Wade, was ever overturned.
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For its non-restrictive climate, Washington was awarded an
A-plus grade by the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America on its choice laws.
But the
anti-abortion group Americans for Life ranked Washington at No. 50, nearly last, of states on its 2015 Life List, noting that "Washington does not adequately protect women from the negative consequences of abortion, nor does it protect unborn children from criminal violence. Washington has failed to enact commonsense, publicly supported laws such as informed consent, parental involvement, abortion clinic regulations, and fetal homicide."
According to FindLaw, Washington does not have a parental consent law requiring minors to inform their parents if they are seeking an abortion. While only licensed physicians may perform abortions in Washington, the state does not have a waiting period or require an ultrasound before the procedure, and there are no public funding limitations on abortion there.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, Washington had 45 abortion providers throughout the state in 2011, with 64 percent of counties not having an abortion clinic. Nationally, 89 percent of U.S. counties did not have an abortion clinic.
The rate of abortions in Washington state dropped 12 percent from 2008 to 2011, the Guttmacher Institute said.
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