Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
                       ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1851
                           Chapter 65, Laws of 2022
                               67th Legislature
                             2022 Regular Session
                             ABORTION CARE—ACCESS
                      EFFECTIVE DATE: June 9, 2022
Passed by the House March 7, 2022                    CERTIFICATE
  Yeas 57 Nays 41
                                       I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
                                       House of Representatives of the
            LAURIE JINKINS             State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of                certify   that   the  attached   is
Representatives                        ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1851 as passed
                                       by the House of Representatives and
                                       the Senate on the dates hereon set
                                       forth.
Passed by the Senate March 1, 2022
  Yeas 28 Nays 21
                                                    BERNARD DEAN
              DENNY HECK                                             Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved March 17, 2022 9:29 AM                         FILED
                                                    March 17, 2022
                                               Secretary of State
              JAY INSLEE                       State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
                           ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1851
                           AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
                   Passed Legislature - 2022 Regular Session
     State of Washington       67th Legislature         2022 Regular Session
     By Representatives Thai, Macri, Fitzgibbon, Bateman, Berry, Cody,
     Duerr, Peterson, Ramel, Santos, Senn, Simmons, Chopp, Slatter,
     Bergquist, Valdez, Pollet, Taylor, Ormsby, and Harris-Talley
     Prefiled 01/07/22. Read first time 01/10/22.      Referred to Committee
     on Health Care & Wellness.
      AN ACT Relating to preserving a pregnant individual's ability to
  access abortion care; amending RCW 9.02.100, 9.02.110, 9.02.130,
  9.02.140, 9.02.160, 9.02.170, and 9.02.120; and creating a new
  section.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature affirms that:
     (1) It is the longstanding public policy of this state to promote
 access to affordable, high quality sexual and reproductive health
 care, including abortion care, without unnecessary burdens or
 restrictions on patients or providers. In 1970 Washington was one of
 the first states to decriminalize abortion before Roe v. Wade; and in
 1991 the people of Washington passed Initiative Measure 120, the
 reproductive privacy act, further protecting access to abortion
 services;
     (2) It has been 30 years since the passage of the reproductive
 privacy act. It is time that we modernize and update the language to
 reflect current medical practice;
     (3) In 2004 and 2019, respectively, Washington attorneys general
 Christine Gregoire and Robert W. Ferguson issued opinions clarifying
 that Washington state law allows certain qualified advanced practice
 clinicians to provide early in-clinic and medication abortion care
                                     p. 1                        EHB 1851.SL
 and recommended that Washington statutes be updated to provide
 further clarity;
     (4) Although the abortion rights movement has historically
 centered on women in our advocacy, that must no longer be the case
 and it is critical that we recognize that transgender, nonbinary, and
 gender expansive people also get pregnant and require abortion care.
 Washington's law should reflect the most inclusive understanding of
 who needs abortions and be updated with gender neutral language. All
 people deserve access to qualified providers in their community who
 can provide whatever method of abortion care works for them and no
 individual who chooses to manage their own abortion should fear
 arrest or prosecution because of their pregnancy decision or outcome;
 and
     (5) All people deserve to make their own decisions about their
 pregnancies, including deciding to end a pregnancy. It is the public
 policy of the state of Washington to continue to protect and advance
 equal rights to access abortion care that meets each individual's
 needs, regardless of gender or gender identity, race, ethnicity,
 income level, or place of residence.
     Sec. 2. RCW 9.02.100 and 1992 c 1 s 1 are each amended to read
 as follows:
     The sovereign people hereby declare that every individual
 possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to personal
 reproductive decisions.
     Accordingly, it is the public policy of the state of Washington
 that:
     (1) Every individual has the fundamental right to choose or
 refuse birth control;
     (2) Every ((woman)) pregnant individual has the fundamental right
 to choose or refuse to have an abortion, except as specifically
 limited by RCW 9.02.100 through 9.02.170 and 9.02.900 through
 9.02.902;
     (3) Except as specifically permitted by RCW 9.02.100 through
 9.02.170 and 9.02.900 through 9.02.902, the state shall not deny or
 interfere with a ((woman's)) pregnant individual's fundamental right
 to choose or refuse to have an abortion; and
     (4) The state shall not discriminate against the exercise of
 these rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities,
 services, or information.
                                     p. 2                      EHB 1851.SL
     Sec. 3. RCW 9.02.110 and 1992 c 1 s 2 are each amended to read
 as follows:
     The state may not deny or interfere with a ((woman's)) pregnant
 individual's right to choose to have an abortion prior to viability
 of the fetus, or to protect ((her)) the pregnant individual's life or
 health.
     A physician, physician assistant, advanced registered nurse
 practitioner, or other health care provider acting within the
 provider's scope of practice may terminate and a health care provider
 may assist a physician, physician assistant, advanced registered
 nurse practitioner, or other health care provider acting within the
 provider's scope of practice in terminating a pregnancy as permitted
 by this section.
     Sec. 4. RCW 9.02.130 and 1992 c 1 s 4 are each amended to read
 as follows:
     The good faith judgment of a physician, physician assistant,
 advanced registered nurse practitioner, or other health care provider
 acting within the provider's scope of practice as to viability of the
 fetus or as to the risk to life or health of a ((woman)) pregnant
 individual and the good faith judgment of a health care provider as
 to the duration of pregnancy shall be a defense in any proceeding in
 which a violation of this chapter is an issue.
     Sec. 5. RCW 9.02.140 and 1992 c 1 s 5 are each amended to read
 as follows:
     Any regulation promulgated by the state relating to abortion
 shall be valid only if:
     (1) The regulation is medically necessary to protect the life or
 health of the ((woman)) pregnant individual who is terminating
 ((her)) the pregnancy,
     (2) The regulation is consistent with established medical
 practice, and
     (3) Of the available alternatives, the regulation imposes the
 least restrictions on the ((woman's)) pregnant individual's right to
 have an abortion as defined by RCW 9.02.100 through 9.02.170 and
 9.02.900 through 9.02.902.
     Sec. 6.   RCW 9.02.160 and 1992 c 1 s 7 are each amended to read
 as follows:
                                     p. 3                      EHB 1851.SL
      If the state provides, directly or by contract, maternity care
  benefits, services, or information ((to women)) through any program
  administered or funded in whole or in part by the state, the state
  shall also provide ((women)) pregnant individuals otherwise eligible
  for any such program with substantially equivalent benefits,
  services, or information to permit them to voluntarily terminate
  their pregnancies.
     Sec. 7. RCW 9.02.170 and 1992 c 1 s 8 are each amended to read
 as follows:
     For purposes of this chapter:
     (1) "Viability" means the point in the pregnancy when, in the
 judgment of the physician, physician assistant, advanced registered
 nurse practitioner, or other health care provider acting within the
 provider's scope of practice on the particular facts of the case
 before such physician, physician assistant, advanced registered nurse
 practitioner, or other health care provider acting within the
 provider's scope of practice, there is a reasonable likelihood of the
 fetus's sustained survival outside the uterus without the application
 of extraordinary medical measures.
     (2) "Abortion" means any medical treatment intended to induce the
 termination of a pregnancy except for the purpose of producing a live
 birth.
     (3) "Pregnancy" means the reproductive process beginning with the
 implantation of an embryo.
     (4) "Physician" means a physician licensed to practice under
 chapter 18.57 or 18.71 RCW in the state of Washington.
     (5) "Physician assistant" means a physician assistant licensed to
 practice under chapter 18.71A RCW in the state of Washington.
     (6) "Advanced registered nurse practitioner" means an advanced
 registered nurse practitioner licensed under chapter 18.79 RCW.
     (7) "Health care provider" means a ((physician or a)) person
 ((acting under the general direction of a physician)) regulated under
 Title 18 RCW to practice health or health-related services or
 otherwise practicing health care services in this state consistent
 with state law.
     (((6))) (8) "State" means the state of Washington and counties,
 cities,   towns,    municipal   corporations,   and    quasi-municipal
 corporations in the state of Washington.
                                     p. 4                      EHB 1851.SL
      (((7))) (9) "Private medical facility" means any medical facility
  that is not owned or operated by the state.
     Sec. 8. RCW 9.02.120 and 1992 c 1 s 3 are each amended to read
 as follows:
     Unless authorized by RCW 9.02.110, any person who performs an
 abortion on another person shall be guilty of a class C felony
 punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW. The state shall not penalize,
 prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against an individual
 based on their actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy
 outcomes. Nor shall the state penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take
 adverse action against someone for aiding or assisting a pregnant
 individual in exercising their right to reproductive freedom with
 their voluntary consent.
         Passed by the House March 7, 2022.
         Passed by the Senate March 1, 2022.
         Approved by the Governor March 17, 2022.
         Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 17, 2022.
                                  --- END ---
                                     p. 5                        EHB 1851.SL
Statutes affected: 
Original Bill: 9.02.100, 9.02.110, 9.02.130, 9.02.140, 9.02.160, 9.02.170, 9.02.120
Engrossed Bill: 9.02.100, 9.02.110, 9.02.130, 9.02.140, 9.02.160, 9.02.170, 9.02.120
Bill as Passed Legislature: 9.02.100, 9.02.110, 9.02.130, 9.02.140, 9.02.160, 9.02.170, 9.02.120
Session Law: 9.02.100, 9.02.110, 9.02.130, 9.02.140, 9.02.160, 9.02.170, 9.02.120