Bill establishes protections for those seeking, providing reproductive care in Washington

The Washington State Senate on Monday passed a bill establishing protections for people who seek or provide legal reproductive care in the state.

Introduced by Rep. Drew Hansen (D-Bainbridge Island), House Bill 1469, also known as the Shield Law, “is a robust legal response to other states that have moved to criminalize or impose civil liability for reproductive care in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision,” Washington House Democrats said in a release.

The bill passed the Senate on a 29-20 vote after passing the House with bipartisan support last month. According to House Democrats, once signed, the bill will:

• Prohibit the issuance of out-of-state subpoenas seeking information related to abortion & reproductive health care services.
• Prohibit out-of-state criminal investigations & arrests seeking evidence related to abortion & reproductive health care services.
• Prohibit Gov. Jay Inslee from extraditing people for out-of-state charges regarding reproductive health care services.
• Provide a cause of action to recoup damages and other legal costs for hostile out-of-state lawsuits related to reproductive health care services.
• Protect health care service providers from harassment for providing protected health care services.

The bill now heads to Gov. Inslee’s desk for his signature.

“As soon as the draft Dobbs decision leaked, we knew other states would be creative and aggressive in restricting access to abortion. We also knew that we would need to be creative and aggressive in fighting back,” said Hansen. “We are committed to using every tool we have available to protect people in Washington from the reach of anti-abortion laws in Texas and elsewhere.”

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