Washington stocked up on abortion drugs when they faced legal uncertainty. Now, the state is aiming to sell the cache before it expires

OLYMPIA – The Washington Senate has approved legislation that would give the Department of Corrections more flexibility in distributing the state’s stockpile of abortion medication.

The bill, which cleared the chamber Tuesday, would remove a requirement that the agency sell the medication at the same cost it paid for it, and would instead allow, but not require, the DOC to receive any amount of payment for any medication it distributes to healthcare providers.

The legislation passed the chamber 32-17, with two Republicans joining every Democrat in supporting the bill.

The proposal comes as Washington looks to distribute its current stockpile of medication, which former Gov. Jay Inslee purchased as mifepristone faced legal challenges in federal court.

In April 2023, Inslee directed the Department of Corrections to use its pharmacy license to purchase 30,000 doses of mifepristone. Shortly before he left office, he directed the DOC to purchase an additional 17,600 doses of mifepristone and 155,000 doses of misoprostol.

The two purchases cost the state about $2 million total.

Both of the medications have remained available under federal law, and the lack of an increased demand and a requirement that the agency recoup its cost meant much of the stockpile from the first purchase went unused before it expired last month.

Much of the remaining stockpile will not expire until 2028 or 2029.

Bill sponsor Sen. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, said Tuesday, following the passage of the legislation that authorized the Department of Corrections to sell the medication in 2023, lawmakers learned many providers could obtain the medication at a lower cost than the state, making it financially unfeasible to sell its stockpile.

During a Jan. 21 hearing in the Senate Human Services Committee, Bateman said it has also been “logistically challenging” to distribute some of the medication.

“What this bill does is it simply says that the Department of Health, working with the Department of Corrections, that they can provide these medications to the people who need them, for perhaps a small fee,” Bateman said.

Committee Chair Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, said during the committee hearing that the legislation ultimately centers around what the state should do with its current stockpile.

“The fact is: Do we throw it away, or do we distribute it to spaces and places where individuals might need care?” Wilson said. “This is not a medication that lasts forever; it has a date and a usage. At some point, it becomes useless.”

Caitlan Safford, a senior policy adviser for Gov. Bob Ferguson, told the committee that the legislation is intended to make sure the state’s stockpile “actually goes to use.”

The bill, however, received opposition from Republicans who expressed concern that it would increase the state’s distribution of the medication.

“Does Washington state have a pile of money somewhere that I am not seeing?” Sen. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, said. “As long as Corrections keeps buying excessive quantities of abortion pills, this bill could make Washington state the free-abortion-bill provider for the entire country.”

Christian described the proposal as a “reckless bill” that would be “an open-ended checkbook for the entire country.”

“I know it’s presented as a sheep, but no, it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Christian said.

The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. It is scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in the House Healthcare and Wellness Committee.