Inslee signs reproductive rights and gender-affirming bills
By Terry Murry on Friday, April 28th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SEATTLE – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed abortion and gender-affirming care policies at a bill signing ceremony on the University of Washington campus in Seattle on Thursday.
He signed a total of five bills including a bill that will protect access to mifepristone, a common abortion medication. In anticipation of a judge’s ruling pulling mifepristone from shelves nationally, the governor has already secured a three-year-supply for the state that could be distributed regardless of federal court action. With the 30,000 doses being held by the state Department of Corrections, all that was left to do was pass a bill that authorized the department to distribute the medication to health providers. Sen. Karen Keiser sponsored Senate Bill 5768, which does that.
Inslee signed House Bill 1469 which prohibits compliance with out-of-state subpoenas related to abortion and gender-affirming care services, prevents cooperation with out-of-state investigations, bans extraditions related to abortion and gender-affirming care services that occur legally in Washington, and protects providers from harassment for providing these services.
The third bill signed states that health providers can’t be disciplined for providing legal reproductive health services or gender-affirming care in Washington. House Bill 1340 protects health providers from disciplinary action or having their licenses revoked for unprofessional conduct if the care provided follows state law, regardless of where their patient resides. Any provider punished under another state’s laws would not have their license denied in Washington if the service was lawfully provided here.
House Bill 1155, the My Health, My Data Act, signed Thursday will increase privacy protections around collecting, sharing, and selling consumer health data. Some popular consumer products can track and share data on a person’s health. The bill offers protections around the use of that data, which the state believes could became more necessary with the attack on abortion care in other states.
The law requires companies to get explicit consent from a consumer to collect, share or sell the consumer’s health data. Additionally, companies are prohibited from geofencing locations to collect and sell data. Consumers can sue organizations that don’t get their explicit consent to use their data, and the attorney general can also take legal action on behalf of consumers. Patients often face cost sharing for receiving abortion care.
Senate Bill 5242 eliminates cost sharing for abortions and protects patients from unexpected expenses they may not be able to cover. For health plans issued or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2024, health carriers may not impose cost sharing on consumers for abortions.
