Washington state is again fully funding its abortion program

After previously decreasing it, the state of Washington has fully restored funding for the Abortion Access Project.

Key Takeaways:

• Last year, Washington lawmakers passed a budget that included a 55% reduction in funding for the Abortion Access Project.

• The program heavily funds the abortion industry, paying for abortionists' salaries, abortion travel expenses, training for abortionists, and security upgrades for abortion facilities.

• Washington Governor Bob Ferguson gave over $11 million in state taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood after the abortion giant was temporarily stripped of federal Medicaid funding.

• Lawmakers have now restored the $8.5 million previously cut from the Abortion Access Project.

The Backstory:

In April of 2025, state legislators passed a budget that reduced funding by 55% for the Abortion Access Project. $8.5 million was cut from the program, which helped pay salaries for abortionists, travel expenses for women coming from out of state to get abortions, training for new abortionists, and security upgrades for abortion facilities.

As a staunchly pro-abortion state, Washington became a magnet for abortion travel after the 2022 fall of Roe v. Wade. According to a study from the University of Washington, the number of out-of-state residents seeking abortions in the state has increased by 50% since Roe fell.

Despite the budget cuts, Washington still remained dedicated to funding abortion. After the Trump administration's "Big Beautiful Bill" passed in 2025, Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses were temporarily stripped of Medicaid funding; Governor Bob Ferguson responded by giving over $11 million in state funding to Planned Parenthood.

The Details:

The $8.5 million in funding has now been restored after a supplemental budget was approved, meaning the Abortion Access Project is fully funded once again. Planned Parenthood is — oddly — celebrating the move by downplaying its abortion "services."

"About 20,000 visits last year, we see in Spokane, the Valley and Pullman," Karl Eastlund, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, told KXLY. "Many of those patients are coming from Idaho. And it's important to remember, more than well over 90% of what we do is not abortion. So it's cancer screenings, birth control screenings, helping people who are pregnant and are really excited to become parents."

This is a myth that Planned Parenthood has been repeating for years. The corporation frequently claims that abortion is only a small percentage of what it does, when in reality, "[I]t is now estimated that revenue from the corporation's abortions exceeds $200 million each year, and that this money comprises nearly 70% of all of the corporation's reported 'non-government health services revenue'" according to Live Action Research Fellow Carole Novielli (emphasis added).

While Planned Parenthood's abortion numbers have steadily increased, the few legitimate health care services it provides have drastically decreased. The insinuation that Planned Parenthood also provides significant prenatal care is especially laughable.

And, as Novielli reported, a previous Live Action News analysis "found that Planned Parenthood’s female clientele represented just 2 percent of the U.S. female population of reproductive age and less than 1% of those women received prenatal services from Planned Parenthood."

The Bottom Line:

This funding is not particularly surprising, coming from such a pro-abortion state, but it is still disappointing. Taxpayers deserve better than to have their tax dollars used to fund and promote the culture of death.