SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson offered the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade:

“Today the United States Supreme Court adopted an extremist position and overturned 50 years of precedent upon which Americans have relied. This decision will harm individuals across our country by severely restricting access to safe, legal reproductive health care, and it will strain Washington’s health care network as individuals from Idaho and other states come here seeking the health care they require.

“When the Senate confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the court, I knew this day was possible. Consequently, I told my legal team to start preparing. I will make three promises to Washingtonians:

“As long as I serve in public office, no one will take away Washingtonians’ right to choose. Washingtonians enshrined their right to reproductive freedom into law by voting to pass the Reproductive Privacy Act. I will use every tool to defend this law, and we will fight every legislative effort to remove these fundamental protections.

“Moreover, I will use my authority to ensure Washington welcomes any individual who comes here to access the fundamental right to reproductive justice. I am already working to protect medical professionals who are prosecuted in other states for providing essential health care services that are legal and protected in Washington.

“Finally, we will look for opportunities to bring or support legal efforts to overturn this extreme opinion. My legal team challenged President Trump’s ‘gag rule’ in federal court in Eastern Washington and won a nationwide injunction. We helped defeat Trump’s contraception access rule. We will never stop fighting for reproductive justice.”

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