Seattle proposal could potentially pay for every abortion in the city

Seattle Council Member Kshama Sawant has introduced a proposal which could fund abortion to the tune of $3.5 million. This is 14 times higher than an appropriation made by the city’s pro-abortion Mayor Bruce Harrell in his 2023-2024 budget proposal, which would have allocated $250,000 taxpayer dollars to the Northwest Abortion Access Fund. The move follows measures passed by the Seattle City Council to implement an abortion sanctuary and target pro-life pregnancy help centers.

According to a report published by TheStranger.com, “Seattle Could Cover Every Abortion in Town for $3.5 Million,” the proposal emerged from the People’s Budget, an initiative of community leaders operating out of Sawant’s office, which proposes “a budget based on what is needed by the people in Seattle, not the corporations.”

But funding Big Abortion means funding corporations while ending the lives of preborn human beings. Data published at the Seattle.gov website reveals that out of the 16,050 abortions committed in Washington State in 2020, 5,376 were committed in King County. In other words, the $3.5 million price tag could potentially fund every single abortion at approximately $651 per procedure.

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“Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda welcomed a proposal from Council Member Kshama Sawant to fund Seattle’s abortion costs, saying the idea was totally ‘on the table’ as negotiations move forward. The request, which emerged from the People’s Budget, an annual campaign run out of Sawant’s office, would increase the JumpStart business tax to cover the estimated $3.5 million price tag,” TheStranger.com reported. The JumpStart tax was created to fund “affordable housing, Green New Deal policies, and small business assistance,” the media outlet added.

However, a tweet published by Sawant on October 10th promoted funding “free abortion for ALL” by increasing the so-called Amazon tax fund which would tax the City’s largest companies. It read in part, “Tell City Council Democrats to fund free abortion for ALL by increasing the Amazon Tax! To win, we need the movement’s voice in City Hall.”

“Rather than dump all that money on the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, Sawant’s proposal stands up a new program that would likely run out of Public Health – Seattle & King County, according to her staff,” the online article added. “Ted Virdone, who works in Sawant’s office, said the City could feasibly pay for abortion procedures just like it paid for COVID-19 testing before the state government took over that responsibility,” they also wrote.

According to TheStranger.com, amendments to the proposed budget will likely be available by the Council later this week.

Seattle City Council passes multiple abortion measures:

Since June, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, Seattle’s City Council has passed a number of pro-abortion measures. A dedicated page about abortion expansion on the city’s website reads, “In May 2022, when news of the impending Supreme Court decision to take away abortion rights was made public, the Council passed Resolution 32054 urging Congress to codify Roe v. Wade into law. The resolution also outlined the initial steps the City of Seattle should take to protect access to reproductive healthcare. Now, the Seattle City Council are working on implementing that approach and finding other ways to support patients.”

Pro-abortion proposals recently passed in Seattle (July 26 – September 6, 2022) include:

• CB 120399: Prohibits false and misleading advertising by limited services pregnancy centers, a.k.a. crisis pregnancy centers.
• CB 120374: Adds people who have received or are seeking abortions as a protected class, ensuring their civil rights’ protections.
• CB 120376: Creates a misdemeanor charge for people who encroach on individuals seeking abortions or gender-affirming care.
• CB 120366: Appropriates $250,000 of city funds to pay for expanded access to reproductive healthcare by making an investment in Northwest Abortion Access Fund.
• CB 120375 (also dubbed an abortion sanctuary bill): Establishes Seattle as a sanctuary city for those seeking abortion and prevents the Seattle Police from pursuing out-of-state warrants related to abortions.

These measures and proposals are among the multiple cities and states who have moved to fund abortion as local city councils, commissions, and state legislatures become the next abortion battleground.