NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Celebrates Passage of Reproductive Health Access for All
Seattle – 4.17.19 – Olympia, Wash. – Today, building on the statewide progress of 2018’s Reproductive Health Parity Act, the Reproductive Health Access for All Act (RHAA) was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee, bolstering protections for Washington’s transgender, gender non-conforming, and student communities.
“Washingtonians have watched in horror while unconstitutional abortion bans have passed in GOP controlled states across the country and we’ve fought hard to increase access in Washington. We applaud Governor Inslee for signing the RHAA today, closing gaps in access for communities who unfairly face barriers to reproductive care.” Tiffany Hankins, Executive Director, stated. “We urge our elected leaders in Washington to continue to protect and advance reproductive freedom where we can, knowing our rights to bodily autonomy are on the line.”
Senate Bill 5602, sponsored by Senator Emily Randall (D-26) and championed by Representative Nicole Macri (D-43), enhances anti-discrimination policy to address the discrimination and denials of services many transgender and gender non-conforming people face in receiving reproductive health care services; requires student health plans to cover reproductive health services; mandates hospitals be transparent about policies related to admission, nondiscrimination, and the reproductive health services available at the hospital; and requires the Bree Collaborative to identify guidelines and develop clinical recommendations to improve reproductive health care for people of color, immigrants and refugees, gender-based violence survivors, and people with disabilities.
The final bill passed without the provision that created a state-funded program to cover comprehensive reproductive health care services for immigrants who currently cannot access state medical services due to federal restrictions. However, this program will effectively be funded in the budget for two years, and we will fight to add it to statute in coming years.
