(1) The department is authorized to acquire, receive, possess, sell, resell, deliver, dispense, distribute, and engage in any activity constituting the practice of pharmacy or wholesale distribution with respect to abortion medications.
(2) The department may exercise the authority granted in this section for the benefit of any person, whether or not the person is in the custody or under the supervision of the department.
(3) The department shall exercise the authority granted in this section in accordance with any applicable law including, but not limited to, any applicable licensing requirements, except that the department is exempt from obtaining a wholesaler's license for any actions taken pursuant to chapter 195, Laws of 2023 as provided in RCW
18.64.046.
(4) The department shall establish and operate a program to deliver, dispense, and distribute abortion medications described in this section. In circumstances in which the department is selling, delivering, or distributing abortion medications to a health care provider or health care entity, it may only sell, distribute, or deliver abortion medications to health care providers and health care entities that will only use the medications for the purposes of providing reproductive health care including abortion care or medical management of early pregnancy loss. The department shall coordinate with the department of health to identify appropriate recipients of the abortion medications and prioritize bulk distribution to health care providers and health care entities, including Indian health care providers. The department may but is not required to obtain any payment for delivering, dispensing, or distributing abortion medications or engaging in any other activity under this section.
(5) Nothing in this section shall diminish any existing authority of the department.
(6) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Abortion medications" means substances used in the course of medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy or manage the full spectrum of reproductive health care including, but not limited to, mifepristone and misoprostol.
(b) "Deliver" has the same meaning as in RCW
18.64.011.
(c) "Dispense" has the same meaning as in RCW
18.64.011.
(d) "Distribute" has the same meaning as in RCW
18.64.011.
(e) "Health care entity" means a hospital, clinic, Indian health care provider, urban Indian health organization, pharmacy, office, or similar setting where a health care provider provides health care to patients.
(f) "Health care provider" has the same meaning as in RCW
70.02.010.
(g) "Person" has the same meaning as in RCW
18.64.011.
(h) "Practice of pharmacy" has the same meaning as in RCW
18.64.011.
(i) "Wholesale distribution" has the same meaning as in WAC 246-945-001.
Finding—Intent—2023 c 195: "(1) It is the long-standing 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. 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, including access to abortion medications.
(2) The legislature finds that the continued attack on reproductive freedoms across the country require immediate action to protect the right to abortion access in Washington. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to ensure access to abortion medications for individuals seeking abortion care." [
2023 c 195 s 1.]
