Abortion Facility in Seattle, Washington Closing Down After 34 Years 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 13, 2006
Seattle, WA (LifeNews.com) — An abortion business in Seattle that targeted poor women is closing after doing abortions for thirty-four years. The Aradia Women’s Health Center abortion facility is closing down because it mostly does abortions on low-income women and rising costs for rent and other expenses have made it difficult to operate.
The abortion center, located in First Hill, will shut down next month and lay off its twenty employees.
Karen Besserman, vice president of Aradia’s Board of Directors, said the abortion center has seen a 20 percent increase in lower-income women seeking abortions.
"There’s a decrease nationwide of women seeking abortions, except for low-income women," Besserman told the Seattle Times.
Since abortions make up about half of Aradia’s income and with seventy percent of the women having abortions there requiring subsidized health care, the abortion business is losing money. Besserman said Arcadia is also seeing higher rent prices and increasing costs for medical malpractice insurance and supplies.
Dan Kennedy, the CEO of Human Life of Washington, the statewide pro-life group there, told LifeNews.com he was elated by the news.
"The closing of Aradia is a signals that our culture is becoming aware of the damage women suffer," Kennedy said. "The declining abortion rate shows that the hard work the entire pro-life community including LifeNews.com has done, is reaping rewards."
"We are witnessing a slow but steady sea-change," Kennedy added, saying that "women and children deserve better than abortion."
Aradia has been the site of abortion training for medical students and more than 54,000 women have gone there since the abortion center opened, with most of them having abortions.
"It was a tough decision. Aradia has deep roots and a long history in Seattle," Besserman told the Times. "There are, fortunately, other options for low-income women in Seattle."
In fact, Seattle is home to other abortion businesses such as the Seattle Medical and Wellness Clinic, Aurora Medical Services, and Planned Parenthood of Western Washington.
Like most other abortion centers, Aradia lured women and teenagers to its facility by offering some legitimate medical services such as annual medical exams, pap smears, and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
In fact, on December 15 the abortion business is offering free or reduced cost flu vaccinations.
Arcadia was also involved in a pro-abortion lobbying effort to convince the Washington State Board of Pharmacy to reconsider allowing pharmacists to opt out of dispensing some drugs like the morning after pill that violate their religious or moral beliefs.
Related web sites:
Human Life of Washington – https://www.humanlife.net
