WA Senate Passes Bill Allowing Sale of Abortion Drugs by Govt.

If the WA State House follows suit, the Department of Corrections could soon become a pharmacy.

WA Senate passes bill allowing sale of abortion drugs

Not long ago, Gov. Inslee ordered the Department of Corrections to purchase 30,000 doses of the abortion drug Mifepristone ahead of a Texas judge's ruling that might end up banning the sale of the drug.

Mifepristone, like some other similar drugs, terminates a pregnancy chemically. A lawsuit charging the sale of the drug was ruled on by a Texas judge, who declared it could not be sold, but delayed implementation of his ruling to give the Federal government time to appeal.

While awaiting the judge's ruling, Inslee ordered the DOC, using its pharmaceutical license, to spend $1.3 million to buy the doses.

Now, the WA State Senate wants to make the drug available for sale through the DOC. Senate Bill (SB) 5768 would allow the Department to make doses available to the public as well as DOC prisoners. according to The Center Square

Some amendments to the bill (which did not pass) included even making the DOC into a type of pharmacy. The bill now heads to the House, where it will be heard before a committee.

The cost of the drugs would be a wholesale cost of $5. Some Senate Republicans sought to amend the bill to ensure DOC would recoup at least some of the funding spent on purchasing the drugs, but that did not pass along with the bill.