Inslee signs into law bills to boost abortion access while protecting providers and patients

Abortion patients and providers in Washington are protected from out-of-state prosecution by a collection of bills signed into law Thursday that also expands abortion access.

Standing atop a building at the University of Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee signed five reproductive health care-related bills into law. Inslee was accompanied by several legislators, activists and Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

“After I sign these bills, no state in the United States will be more protected, more vigilant and more successful in protecting a woman’s right to choice than the state of Washington,” Inslee said just before uncapping a bill-signing pen.

One signed bill, referred to as the shield law, protects abortion patients and those receiving gender-affirming care from out-of-state prosecution – including subpoenas, extradition and cooperation with investigations. The bill takes effect immediately. In this way, a resident of another state can receive reproductive or gender-affirming health care in Washington and be protected from penalties in their own state. Texas, for example, passed a law in 2021 that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Opponents of this bill said it would put Washington law enforcement in a difficult position and creates an administrative burden for police officers in Washington.

“(We) ask that the Legislature not place Washington law enforcement agencies in the middle of the abortion debate,” said James McMahan with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Also on Thursday’s roster was a bill that protects health care providers’ licenses when they give abortions and certain other services. If a provider loses its license in another state for offering health care legal in Washington, its license is still valid in Washington. Due to the bill’s emergency clause, it takes effect immediately.

This bill comes after Idaho’s recent passage of laws that criminalize physicians who provide abortions, leading many to flee the state and an Idaho hospital closing its labor and delivery unit, due also in part to financial reasons.

“Those providers are welcome to come and practice in the state of Washington,” Inslee said.

The My Health, My Data Act also became law. It requires apps and websites to obtain consent from users before collecting or sharing their personal health data. Consumers would be able to withdraw consent any time.

Period tracking apps, like Flo and Clue, store data like when a person’s period and pregnancy starts and stops. This information could be sold or shared in an investigation to determine if someone had an abortion, but this law prohibits data-sharing without consent.

“With so many states who seek to reach their tentacles into our state and take away the right of reproductive freedom, criminalize and seek civil sanctions against individuals who seek that right, it’s more important than ever to make sure that personal health information is protected,” Ferguson said.

Inslee also signed a bill that allows the Department of Corrections to distribute mifepristone, a medication commonly used to terminate pregnancies, to abortion seekers and health care facilities outside of Corrections’ facilities. Washington purchased a three-year supply of the drug for this purpose.

Opponents said it was wrong to use taxpayer money to purchase the abortion pills, since it’s a controversial issue that goes against many Washingtonians’ beliefs.

Republican Legislators call Inslee’s request to purchase the drug an overreach of power. Inslee directed the department to purchase the stockpile in March, but the bill authorizing the department to distribute didn’t pass until April.

“The Legislature has made itself subservient to the executive branch, doing as the executive branch orders and justifying executive branch actions after-the-fact,” Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, said in a statement against the bill.

Finally, Inslee signed a bill making abortions cheaper for many by eliminating health insurance cost-sharing and copays for them.