 Thank you for subscribing to e-news updates from the Office of Gov. Jay Inslee. We hope you find these updates interesting, useful and worth sharing. If you?d like to update your subscription preferences or unsubscribe, you can do so?here?at any time.?
Gov. Jay Inslee signed a slate of pro-choice bills in April to protect Washingtonians from out-of-state actors wisdhing to obstruct choice and sell sensitive health data. This month, Attorney General Bob Ferguson joined other states in supporting a legal challenge against an extreme Idaho law that limits care beyond state borders.
Post-Roe, Washington has emerged as a leading state in the fight for abortion access. Just one state over, Idaho?s conservative legislature is passing extreme and unconstitutional bills to contain residents to halt access to reproductive health care.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson this week joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general to file an amicus brief repudiating the Idaho law. Per the brief, the law violates the sovereignty of states that protect the right of choice, criminalizes lawful travel, forces patients out-of-state for care, and chills doctors from providing vital information to their patients.
?Washington vigorously supports those challenging Idaho?s patently cruel and unconstitutional law restricting travel for abortions,? said Inslee. ?This law places Idahoan youth in grave danger, and unlawfully infringes on every person?s First Amendment rights to free speech and to travel freely between states? borders.?
?The Constitution protects the individual right to travel between states, and Idaho?s radical Legislature cannot abolish that right,? said Ferguson.
Since the law passed, Planned Parenthood clinics in Washington state have seen a surge in patients from Idaho. Doctors are fleeing the state and delivery wards are closing, forcing women on the run just to see a doctor for potentially life-saving care.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked prosecution of Idaho doctors for referring patients out-of-state for abortions.
Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, surrounded by the SEA 2026 executive committee and professional soccer players, hold up the 2026 FIFA World Cup flag to celebrate Seattle?s selection as a host city.
Two million people enjoy Seattle?s annual Seafair every summer. More than 144,000 Taylor Swift fans just ?shook it off? so hard they caused measurable seismic activity. Another 150,000 visitors came to see baseball?s best during the MLB All-Star week.
Seattle fans show up, and they rock the house. In 2026, downtown will roar even louder.
Seattle was selected last year as a host city for a leg of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament. As many as 750,000 visitors and over $500 million in revenues might be expected. Millions more will watch on television. The event promises to be a true international spectacle.
The tournament?s positive effects go beyond hospitality revenues. The Seattle Sounders have committed to build 26 new community playfields across the region by the time the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins. The state is chipping in, too ? included in the state?s capital budget this year were funds for playfields, stadiums, and pools across the state. In just a few years, those new playfields will be full of kids inspired by international superstars visiting their home city.
Seattle has initiated a rocket-powered post-pandemic tourism rebound by attracting some of the largest events in North America. ?Swifties,? Seafair-goers, and soccer fans agree ? Seattle?s hot streak is a wonderful thing.
|
? 
? 
? 
??
