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Media contact: Public Affairs, (360) 725-7055
June 24, 2022
OLYMPIA, Wash. ? In a 5-4 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women?s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and allows states to ban abortion before viability. Chief Justice Roberts wrote a separate opinion upholding the Mississippi law without voting to overturn Roe v. Wade. The decision effectively bans abortion in 17 states. Washington state is one of 16 states, plus D.C., that protects the right of a pregnant person to access abortion, and it's one of six states that requires health plans to cover abortion services, if the plan covers maternity services.
?Washington state led the country in protecting peoples? rights to terminate a pregnancy and we will not reverse that promise now,? said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. ?Today?s decision by six justices on the Supreme Court reverses the progress we?ve made in preserving the rights of pregnant people in our country to make the most difficult decisions that only they and their families should make. I will do everything I can to maintain access to this critical service for all Washington individuals and their families.?
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