OLYMPIA (LifeSiteNews) — The state of Washington has restored $8.5 million to its “Abortion Access Project,” compensating for a budget cut the previous year that had enraged the abortion lobby.

The “Abortion Access Fund,” which provides financial assistance ranging from abortionists’ salaries to abortion travel and training to other abortion facility expenses, was meant to help make up the difference in federal funding that Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses had suffered due to pro-life restrictions on federal funding.

The fund suffered an $8.5 million cut in the 2025 budget, however, representing a decrease of more than half. Now, however, the legislature is fully reinstating that money, KXLY reports.

“So it really is incredibly helpful for just being able to plan your business, keep moving forward. Hiring staff, growing, offering new services,” celebrated Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington & North Idaho CEO Karl Eastlund. “So yeah, it really brings a bit of a peace of mind to our patients, into our staff.”

“As a staunchly pro-abortion state, Washington became a magnet for abortion travel after the 2022 fall of Roe v. Wade. According to a study from the University of Washington, the number of out-of-state residents seeking abortions in the state has increased by 50% since Roe fell,” Live Action notes. “Despite the budget cuts, Washington still remained dedicated to funding abortion. After the Trump administration’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ passed in 2025, Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses were temporarily stripped of Medicaid funding; Governor Bob Ferguson responded by giving over $11 million in state funding to Planned Parenthood.”

Within weeks of returning to office, President Donald Trump began enforcing the Hyde Amendment, which bans direct federal funding of most abortions; reinstated the Mexico City Policy which forbids non-governmental organizations from using taxpayer dollars for most abortions abroad; and cut millions in pro-abortion subsidies by freezing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending. 

Last July, he signed into law his controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (BBB), a wide-ranging policy package that includes a one-year ban on federal tax dollars going through Medicaid to entities that commit abortions for reasons other than rape, incest, or supposed threats to the mother’s life. 

That and other cuts have significantly impacted the bottom line of Planned Parenthood. According to Operation Rescue, 54 abortion facilities shut their doors in 2025, 36 of which were Planned Parenthood locations.

The abortion giant’s most recent annual report revealed that its affiliates across the nation took in $699.3 million in government “health services” reimbursements and grants, accounting for 39 percent of its total revenue during that period. At the same time, the abortion chain committed 392,715 abortions – yet its non-abortion procedures, such as pap tests and cancer screenings, continued to decline as percentages of its overall business.

Washington also recently enacted a law making it easier for the state to distribute abortion pills from a stockpile established by his predecessor, essentially turning the state government into a chemical abortion dispensary; and is under federal investigation for suspicion of coercing health providers into covering abortion in violation of federal law.