Washington House moves to shield abortion, pregnancy loss from legal scrutiny
Mar 19, 2025, 5:00 PM | Updated: 6:36 pm
Exterior of the Washington state Capitol campus. (Photo: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest)
(Photo: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest)
As Washington strengthens its abortion protections, lawmakers are advancing a bill to repeal a century-old law that critics argue could be used to criminalize individuals who experience an abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth. The effort aims to ensure that pregnancy loss isn’t subject to unnecessary legal scrutiny.
The legislation has sparked both support and opposition, with lawmakers debating the balance between respecting the dignity of pregnancy loss and maintaining the integrity of death investigations.
The Washington State House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee voted 8-5 on Wednesday to advance SB 5093. The version passed by the committee mirrors the bill approved by the Senate on February 5 in a 30-19 vote along party lines, with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans opposed.
What would the bill change?
Under current Washington law, county coroners and medical examiners have jurisdiction over various deaths, including those resulting from suspicious circumstances, unnatural or unlawful causes, suicide, or homicide.
However, they also have authority over cases involving known or suspected abortions, premature births, or stillbirths — a provision reproductive rights groups argue unfairly stigmatizes pregnancy loss.
SB 5093 would remove coroners’ and medical examiners’ jurisdiction over these types of pregnancy-related deaths, meaning they would no longer be required to investigate cases involving miscarriages, stillbirths, or abortions unless other criminal circumstances — such as violence or homicide — were involved.
The bill also repeals Washington’s 1909 law against “Concealing Birth,” which makes it a gross misdemeanor to conceal the birth of a child by disposing of its body, whether the child died before or after birth. While rarely enforced, supporters argue that similar laws in other states have been used to criminalize pregnancy outcomes.
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Supporters and opponents weigh in
Supporters of the bill emphasize that it does not prevent hospitals or coroners from conducting autopsies to determine the cause of death.
“It is essential that folks understand that hospitals and coroners can still do an autopsy to determine the cause of death. That is not changing with this bill,” Representative Darya Farivar (D-Seattle) said before the committee vote. “We want to ensure that there is dignity when a pregnancy results in stillbirth and not risk criminal sanctions.”
Opponents of the bill have raised concerns about its potential impact on law enforcement’s ability to investigate suspicious deaths.
“If we’re not careful, we’re stripping away the rightful ability of local authorities to conduct proper death investigations when warranted,” Representative Brian Burnett (R-Wenatchee) said.
Representative Jenny Graham (R-Spokane) acknowledged that abortion is legal in Washington but argued that “bad actors should be charged with manslaughter and murder.” She worried that the bill might make it harder to detect cases where foul play was involved.
“Whether an infant’s death was accidental or intentional, cases of infanticide should be easier to investigate, not harder,” Graham said.
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Washington’s broader abortion protections
In 2022, Washington lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting the state from cooperating with out-of-state abortion investigations. In 2023, Former Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed additional legislation strengthening access to abortion medication and protecting providers from legal action by states with stricter abortion bans.
A final provision of SB 5093 would require correctional institutions and private detention facilities to report annually to the Department of Health on the number of incarcerated individuals who experience miscarriages, stillbirths, or perinatal loss.
The department would then submit a report to the Legislature to assess how pregnancy-related health outcomes are handled behind bars.
The bill now moves to the full House for a potential vote.
Matt Markovich is the KIRO Newsradio political analyst. Follow him on X.
