Washington to Block Anti-Abortion States From Accessing ID Data

Spencer Soper, Bloomberg News

Jay Inslee, governor of Washington and 2020 presidential candidate, pauses while speaking at the Des Moines Register Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. The 2020 Democratic field is gathering in Iowa for the showcase Iowa State Fair, a chance for candidates to meet with voters in the first primary contest of the presidential campaign -- and eat fattening food and view butter sculptures. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Washington Governor Jay Inslee pledged to block hardline anti-abortion jurisdictions such as Texas from learning who travels to the state for the procedure, the latest escalation in the US divide over reproductive rights.

Inslee, the longest-serving active US governor, said he will work to “plug any gaps” in privacy laws so women can obtain abortions without fear of their information being shared. The three-term Democrat singled out Texas, Missouri and neighboring Idaho as states hostile to abortion in remarks Saturday on the steps of the capital building in Olympia.

Inslee’s vow came a day after the US Supreme Court’s momentous decision to overturn the landmark abortion-rights case Roe V. Wade that underpinned American reproductive rights for almost half a century.

The governor also plans to direct state police to refuse to cooperate with law enforcement from other states seeking to enforce anti-abortion laws, and said he’ll push for legislation to impose similar bans on other police agencies within the state. Inslee said his goal is to make Washington a “sanctuary” for abortion rights.

“We are not going to allow that data to get back to Texas or Missouri or Idaho,” Inslee said.