OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Senate Ways and Means Committee heard public testimony Monday on a bill that would allow the Washington state Department of Corrections to distribute mifepristone, a commonly-used drug to end pregnancies.
Under the proposal, the department would have the authority to sell the pills for approximately $50 a dose to doctors and health clinics. The state purchased 30,000 doses in March.
Future availability of the drug remains uncertain following conflicting court rulings over its legality.
In Texas, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk signed an injunction that directs the Food and Drug Administration to stay mifepristone's approval while a lawsuit challenging the safety and approval of the drug continues. The lawsuit was filed by a group of doctors who oppose abortion.
Meanwhile, Spokane-based Judge Thomas O. Rice partially granted a request from 17 states and the District of Columbia by blocking the Food and Drug Administration from making any changes to the drug's access in those states.
The timing of the judges' orders revealed the high stakes surrounding mifepristone almost a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and curtailed access to abortion across the country.
"How can we allow an unelected judge to take that right of reproductive freedom away from the people of Washington state?” bill sponsor Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Kent) said during testimony on Monday.
Planned Parenthood showed support for the bill currently under consideration in Olympia.
"Everyone should get to make decisions about their own lives and futures and that includes the decisions to have an abortion and use the method of abortion that best suits them," said Nicole Kern, Planned Parenthood's government relations manager. "We are grateful to know that Washington is fighting for our rights to control our bodies and we will join you in that fight every step of the way.”
Members of churches and religious organizations oppose the bill.
”I find it ironic that yesterday I joined with millions of Christians across the globe to celebrate life, eternal life. Today, we’re talking about a pill that is designed to end 30,000 lives within the womb,” said Brad Payne from the Family Policy Institute of Washington.
The bill will be brought up next during a Senate Ways and Means Committee executive session on April 12.