Washington state law protects the right to have an abortion, but barriers remain that prevent full access to affordable, reliable, and equitable reproductive healthcare. Learn about our priority legislation and join us to help advocate for expanded care.
Priority Legislation
Funding for Clinics: Update Medicaid Rates for Reproductive and Sexual Health
What it does: To ensure our clinics can maintain access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services, Pro-Choice Washington and partners urge lawmakers to update Medicaid rates for these services.
Why it matters: Washington is a national leader in protecting the legal right to abortion care. Yet, a lack of funding for care puts clinics at risk of closure, increases patient wait times, and limits options for rural patients. To continue being an abortion sanctuary state, the legislature must invest in our clinics to ensure all patients can access the care they need.
The state’s 2021 investment for Medicaid rates for sexual and reproductive health services was critical to the sustainability for the reproductive health care safety net and prevented clinics from closing. To ensure the program remains impactful and sustainable, Pro-Choice Washington urges lawmakers to update these rates.
Strengthening Washington’s Shield Law
What it does: In 2023, Washington’s Shield Law (HB 1469) was passed to protect providers, patients, and helpers from being criminalized for providing or accessing abortion or gender-affirming care in Washington state. This year, Pro-Choice Washington requests that lawmakers close loopholes and expand protections in the Shield Law to ensure that our state continues to be a place where people can access the health care they need, without the risk of criminalization.
Why it matters: A second Trump administration will leverage federal law and funding to target gender-affirming and reproductive health care. It is critical lawmakers update the Shield Law to continue the state’s significant progress to protect providers, helpers, and patients seeking medical care in Washington.
Dignity in Pregnancy Loss Bill (SB 5093)
What it does: Dignity in Pregnancy Loss Bill will ensure every Washingtonian who experiences a pregnancy loss (miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death) retains the ability to make decisions about how they will handle their own pregnancy loss without threat of criminalization and has access to services and resources they need.
Why it matters: When a person experiences pregnancy loss, they should never have to worry about criminalization. However, since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, over 200 patients nationwide were charged with crimes related to their pregnancy outcomes. In Washington, as elsewhere in the U.S., Indigenous and Black women are more likely to experience stillbirth, miscarriage, and neonatal death due to persistent disparities in maternal health outcomes because of systemic racism. Incarcerated pregnant people also experience higher rates of miscarriage and stillbirth.
The Dignity in Pregnancy Loss Bill affirms the rights of patients and protects against the erosion of civil rights in states hostile to abortion.
Repeal/Amend I-2081, aka Parents’ Bill of Rights
What it does: In 2024, the Washington State Legislature passed I-2081, known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights. This redundant initiative lays out what information to which parents of a child in a Washington public school are entitled. However, I-2081 contains vague and broad language that changes important laws that protect students’ rights to privacy and laws that are intended to ensure inclusion, student safety, and well-being.
Why it matters: I-2081 will harm vulnerable youth that rely on school-based sexual health services and mental health counseling by potentially exposing private medical and mental health records without the young person’s permission. Black and Indigenous youth, unhoused students, and youth survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence will be most impacted.
Pro-Choice Washington is a part of a coalition dedicated to gender justice, LGBTQIA2S+ rights, reproductive rights and education. This coalition strongly believes I-2081 should be repealed or significantly amended. The coalition also calls on the legislature to pass proactive legislation that protects students’ safety and inclusive education.
Medication Abortion on College Campuses
What it does: This bill would require public colleges and universities in Washington state to provide medication abortion through student health centers.
Why it matters: Student health centers are important sources of health care for university students, particularly sexual and reproductive care. Providing abortion care on college campuses can effectively reduce barriers to care for students. This bill will expand access for college students, and also alleviate wait times, strain, and demand on local clinics and resources.
Support Legislation
Progressive Revenue
Pro-Choice Washington is a member of Balance Our Tax Code (BOTC), a coalition that works to make Washington’s tax code work for all of us, not just the wealthy few.
What it does: BOTC has proposed several policy options for this session that would bring in revenue to fund public program services on both a short and long-term basis.
Why it’s needed: Washington has one of the least equitable tax codes in the country. Low-income households are taxed at a higher rate than the wealthiest. Our tax code limits access to essential services, including affordable reproductive health care. The state has a projected budget deficit of $10-12 billion for the next four years, leading to an extensive list of proposed budget cuts to critical health and human services. The coalition urges lawmakers to pass progressive policies that balance our tax code, rather than forcing the most marginalized communities to bear the brunt of budget cuts.
Health Equity for Immigrants
The Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign (HEIC) works to improve access to affordable health care and coverage for all Washingtonians, prioritizing equitable access for individuals who are uninsured and underinsured due to immigrant status restrictions.
What it does: In the 2023-2025 biennium budget, the Legislature prioritized equity and the needs of immigrant communities by funding for a Medicaid-like program for undocumented immigrants under 138% of the federal poverty line (FPL) and premium subsidy assistance for those under 250% FPL who purchased their plan on the state’s Healthplanfinder. While this was a huge win, there are still gaps. During the 2025 session, HEIC calls on the Legislature to advance solutions that ensure our immigrant populations get the health coverage and care they need.
Why it’s needed: Immigrant status restrictions limit how individuals can access health care, which results in delay or foregoing of care to which every Washingtonian should have access, but federal restrictions and state austerity cuts have left many immigrants in our state without critical health services.
Police Accountability
What it does: The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability advocates for the adoption and implementation of statewide policies to reduce police violence and increase police accountability. The coalition is calling for the passage of four bills to make communities more safe.
Why it matters: Police brutality is among the biggest threats to healthy and safe Black families in America. Increased stress and trauma of structural racism for Black parents and families are linked with higher infant and maternal mortality rates. Black women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
To ensure that the voices of families and communities impacted by police violence are heard, Washington Coalition for Police Accountability believes in strengthening protections against police violence.
Pro-Choice Washington envisions a future where every person in Washington state has equitable access to the reproductive healthcare options they need to thrive. To help make this vision a reality, we prioritize legislation that focuses on three things:
- Increases access to affordable, timely, and quality abortion and reproductive healthcare;
- Reduces the burden of out-of-pocket costs for reproductive health services, which are often unaffordable and may delay or prevent access to healthcare;
- Builds a more equitable Washington that protects all peoples’ rights, safety, and healthcare.
Achieving this vision requires working closely with our partners that protect our democracy and our communities more broadly by improving health equity, voting justice, and police accountability.
Priority Legislation refers to bills that are directly connected to Pro-Choice Washington’s key issue areas. These bills fall under Pro-Choice Washington’s core advocacy focus and have a direct impact on our community. As a result, these bills receive significant Pro-Choice Washington resources, including staff time, communications support, and activism.
Support Legislation refers to bills that are connected to Pro-Choice Washington’s values and broader vision for Washington, including expanding health equity, improving democratic processes, and building safe and healthy communities. These often fall outside of our core advocacy focus, so Pro-Choice Washington follows the lead of brilliant partner organizations.
