ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5557
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Senate Health & Long-Term Care (originally sponsored by Senators Krishnadasan, Dhingra, Kauffman, Slatter, C. Wilson, Saldaña, Orwall, Lovelett, Stanford, Cortes, Frame, Hasegawa, Liias, Nobles, Pedersen, Trudeau, and Valdez)
READ FIRST TIME 02/21/25.
AN ACT Relating to codifying emergency rules to protect the right of a pregnant person to access treatment for emergency medical conditions in hospital emergency departments; amending RCW 70.170.060 ; reenacting and amending RCW 70.41.020 ; adding a new section to chapter 70.41 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that access to reproductive health care is a long-established right in Washington state. The people of Washington have repeatedly affirmed this right, and it is the legislature's responsibility to ensure that our residents have access to care that puts patients first regardless of federal actions. Pregnant patients have been able to rely on federal protections when they seek emergency medical care, but due to renewed uncertainty at the federal level, the legislature must provide these rights in state law so that pregnant patients in Washington state have the strongest protections when seeking care. The legislature finds the existing state law, including chapter 70.400 RCW, along with current federal laws ensure that both physicians and hospitals have a shared responsibility to deliver the highest quality of care to pregnant patients to guarantee their legal access to all medically appropriate options.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 70.41 RCW to read as follows: