State lawmakers call for legislature to restore funding for Abortion Access Project

Nearly 60 Democratic legislators have signed an open letter calling on Washington lawmakers to restore funding to a state program that helps clinics and patients pay for abortion services after lawmakers cut its funding by 55% during the 2025 legislative session.

According to the letter, cuts in state and federal funding will also reduce Planned Parenthood’s clinical services budget by 33%.

“Safety net family planning providers cannot continue to serve patients at present levels without state investment, and if Washington does not take action to restore funding, health outcomes in our state will plummet and the state will ultimately pay the price tag,” the letter states.

The letter – sent last week to Gov. Bob Ferguson, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority leader, and the top budget writers in the House and Senate – was signed by Spokane Reps. Timm Ormsby and Natasha Hill, and Sen. Marcus Riccelli. Ormsby, who chairs the House appropriations committee, was both a signee and a recipient of the letter.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Ferguson said that during “this time of national attacks on reproductive freedom, it’s more important than ever to ensure Washington is protecting reproductive health care.”

“I appreciate the legislators’ support for my longstanding commitment to restoring this funding,” Ferguson said.

The letter comes after the budget adopted by state lawmakers earlier this year included a $4.25 million cut in funding for the Abortion Access Project in each of the next two years.

“To stay afloat, safety net providers need state lawmakers to restore previous funding levels to the Abortion Access Project,” the letter states.

In the letter, the legislators said they are “dedicated to keeping safety net abortion providers afloat by advocating for $21.5 million” in the upcoming supplemental budget during the upcoming session, “to ensure Washingtonians do not lose access to sexual and reproductive health care.”

In a statement, Courtney Normand, Washington state director for the Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said the group is “heartened by the strong support from legislative leaders and urge Governor Ferguson to include a full restoration of the Abortion Access Project in his supplemental budget proposal later this year.”

“Washington has always led in defending reproductive freedom, but leadership requires action to ensure those freedoms are truly attainable,” Normand said. “At a time of unprecedented attacks at the federal level, our state must stand firm and protect abortion access for every Washingtonian – no matter their zip code or income.”

Earlier this year, Ferguson said he would use state funds to make up for cuts in federal funding to Planned Parenthood included in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill and added that he would work with state lawmakers to address state funding cuts.

Following the passage of the federal bill this summer, which includes a one-year moratorium on Planned Parenthood’s health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements, Ferguson announced the state would use approximately $11 million from the Washington Healthcare Authority’s budget to backfill the lost federal dollars should the provision withstand legal challenges. In the letter released, the Democratic lawmakers said they are in “strong alignment” with the decision.

“We applaud Governor Ferguson acting swiftly to backfill the federal Medicaid dollars and his commitment to restore funding to the Abortion Access Project,” the letter states.

During a press conference in July announcing his decision, Ferguson said he had also had “many conversations” with Jennifer Allen, CEO of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, about the state funding cuts adopted by the Legislature.

“I’m actively working with her, and other legislative leaders, to make sure in the proposed budget that we have coming up, that we make sure, especially in these times, that we adequately fund Planned Parenthood and making sure that people in Washington state have access to the full range of reproductive healthcare,” Ferguson said. “So, I think you’ll be seeing that in a supplemental budget.”

Faced with a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall last session, Ferguson said he did not have the ability to amend the proposed budget and said legislators faced “tough choices” in crafting a budget.

“But I think we’re all on the same page on, during this really challenging time, to try and restore that funding,” Ferguson said during a July 9 press conference.