ACLU of Washington comment on passage of abortion and gender affirming care bills out of policy committees

OLYMPIA – By Friday, February 3, policy committees in the Washington state House of Representatives and Senate advanced the progress of number of important pieces of legislation, including:

• Washington My Health, My Data (HB 1155), which reduces barriers to abortion and gender affirming care access by protecting people’s private health data.
• No costsharing for abortion care (SB 5242), which reduces financial barriers to accessing abortion.
• Protections for health care providers (HB 1340), which protects the Washington licenses of those providing abortion or gender affirming care.
• Shield law (HB 1469, SB 5489), which better protects people seeking, providing, or helping others obtain abortion or gender affirming care that is lawful in Washington state, including by preventing nonfugitive extradition, and limiting Washington courts and law enforcement agencies’ cooperation with out-of-state investigations or legal proceedings.

The ACLU of Washington supports these bills as critical steps towards defending and expanding access to abortion and gender affirming care in Washington state.

Leah Rutman, health care and liberty policy counsel at the ACLU of Washington, had this reaction:

“We are pleased that lawmakers took swift action to protect people’s privacy and access to health care by passing bills that reduce barriers to abortion and gender affirming care out of their initial policy committees. These bills are important steps toward guaranteeing that all who seek abortion and gender affirming care can access it. Their ultimate passage would solidify Washington’s position as a national leader in defending and extending access to critically important health care.”