Abortion

Since last November, a library at the University of Washington has featured a different kind of vending machine. It's stocked with ibuprofen, pregnancy tests and the morning-after pill. Such machines are increasingly popular on college campuses around the country.

Pro-choice advocates estimate that “crisis pregnancy centers" outnumber abortion providers in Washington state by 2-to-1. Organizers in Tacoma marked the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision by hosting a pro-choice resource fair.

The Supreme Court has preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.

Democratic state officials say they're ready to dispense thousands of mifepristone doses if access to the pill becomes difficult as a result of a pending federal lawsuit.

Despite lost ballots or address changes, these eight Snohomish County voters felt it was still important to go vote in-person. Many, but not all, said concern for abortion rights was what motivated them to stand in line.

The midterm elections are fast approaching, and in Oregon and Washington, Democrat candidates are filling the airwaves with ads about abortion. Republicans are focused on crime and inflation. But when voters get down their ballot to local races, which issue is going to be more important to voters?

Idaho universities are warning staffers not to refer students to abortion providers or emergency contraception because they could face criminal charges under a state law. One school also says employees shouldn't tell students how to get birth control.

Planned Parenthood leaders in Oregon said there has been a surge in the number of people traveling from out of state for abortions, including from neighboring Idaho, where most of a near-total abortion ban has taken effect.

A federal judge has barred Idaho from enforcing a strict abortion ban in medical emergencies, clearing the way for hospitals to continue treating ectopic pregnancies and other pregnancy-related complications normally for now. Much of the law will still go into effect, but U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said Wednesday that the state cannot prosecute anyone who is performing an abortion in an emergency medical situation.

Medical groups and states across the U.S. are watching as a legal battle over abortion rights pits the deep-red state of Idaho against the Department of Justice. As of Wednesday, 20 states, including Washington, along with the American College of Emergency Physicians and other medical groups have filed “friend of the court” briefs in the lawsuit over Idaho's near-total abortion ban.