Washington state lawmakers are looking to take action after receiving a poor grade from a non-profit focused on sex trafficking. However, with pro-abortion laws in place in the state, much of the effort to fight sex trafficking could prove difficult.
Shared Hope International released a nationwide report on how each state scored on sex trafficking. In 2011, Washington received a “B” score, and by 2019, it scored an “A.” But in 2023, it was given a lower grade of “C.”
A new bill, SB 6006, would address the concerns brought up by Shared Hope. Under SB 6006, Washington state law would be more consistent with the federal Justice for Victims Trafficking Act, and would — according to a press release — “improve how the state identifies and responds to victims, provides them with continued care, and brings justice.”
“We must remember that these survivors are children,” State Senator Manka Dhingra, chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, said. “They have suffered more than enough trauma for a lifetime, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we give them the help and support they need to heal and to get their lives back on track.”
Since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was decided by the Supreme Court in 2022, overturning Roe v. Wade, Washington has been one of several states moving to become an abortion haven. It has stockpiled abortion drugs and passed legislation allowing abortion drugs to be distributed within the state, even if the FDA withdraws its approval of the abortion pill (mifepristone). An increasing amount of pro-abortion legislation has been introduced, including bills to protect abortionists who break the pro-life laws of other states.
This is relevant because, despite how well-intentioned SB 6006 may be, abortion is linked to sex trafficking.
Abortion is frequently used by traffickers to control and subdue their victims, while the abortion industry (including industry leader Planned Parenthood) frequently looks the other way. Live Action’s Aiding Abusers investigation found a systemic, decades-long cover-up of child sexual abuse at Planned Parenthood. Numerous real-life predators have been aided by the abortion industry, and Planned Parenthood has even been caught encouraging traffickers to pose as guardians of their victims.
A report published by the Annals of Health Law in 2014 found that Planned Parenthood is well-known to traffickers and trafficking victims, and noted that victims had “significant contact with clinical treatment facilities, most commonly Planned Parenthood.” Trafficking survivors testified to having multiple abortions, often at the demand of their pimps, with one specifically saying Planned Parenthood was chosen because the staff there “didn’t ask any questions” (emphasis added):
I got pregnant six times and had six abortions during this time. Several of them were from a doctor who was a client — he did them back door — I came in the back door after hours and paid them off the books. This kept my name off any records… At least one of my abortions was from Planned Parenthood because they didn’t ask any questions.
Similar experiences have been documented in multiple other studies, proving that abortion is a tool widely used by traffickers. If Washington continues to act as a sanctuary for abortion, traffickers will continue to be drawn there, no matter what kind of anti-trafficking bills lawmakers may pass.
