WATCH: WA to distribute its store of abortion pills to clinics, possibly nationwide

(The Center Square) - Washington Senators have passed a bill that would allow the state to distribute millions of abortion pills, it purchased after the U.S. Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, free to clinics statewide and perhaps even nationwide.

Senate Bill 5917, sponsored by Sen. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, would allow the Department of Corrections to redistribute an enormous supply of abortion pills to clinics in Washington and potentially other states.

Washington state built up a large stockpile of abortion pills when former Gov. Jay Inslee in 2023 ordered a huge supply amid fear that the availability of abortion pills would be restricted when the U.S. Supreme Court returned responsibility for abortion laws to the states.

Another order was placed in 2025 and, according to staff for Senate Republicans, DOC has spent a total of $2.074 million for abortion medications from March 2023 through January 2025. 

On the Senate floor this week, Sen. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, urged fellow lawmaker to adopt an amendment that would require clinics or telehealth providers to educate women seeking the abortion pill that reversing their decision after the first pill is possible within a limited window of time.

Christian grew emotional sharing how deeply he regrets his part in his girlfriend’s abortion when he was 16 years old.

“It is a decision that I will always regret and never forget,” he said.

That girlfriend would later become his wife and Christian said that she still battles depression over the decision to end their first child’s life more than 40 years ago.

Backers of the legislation say the goal is to improve distribution to prevent future waste, as tens of thousands of the doses have had to be destroyed because they expired.

In a Wednesday interview with The Center Square, Christian shared his deep concerns with the legislation.

“The bill would allow the Department of Corrections Pharmacy to become the supplier of free abortion pills to the entire country," he said. "We tried to give them some amendments that would limit it to Washington state only. We tried to get them to demand at least the cost of payment back. They would not take it.

“In my personal opinion, I think this is them trying to figure out a way to provide abortion pills to states that have stricter laws at our taxpayer’s expense," he added. "This is the wild west of free abortion pills. Washington state would be leading it, and the Washington citizens could be paying for it."

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Current law requires DOC to recover its costs plus $5 a dose. This legislation also allows abortion pills to be provided without charge and places no limits on distribution.

A news release from Christian after the bill cleared the Senate, called 5917 “a backhanded launch for an ongoing taxpayer-supported program, as long as DOC keeps buying pills in bulk.”

Live Action pro-life correspondent Christina Bennett was concerned the abortion pill and its side-effects can lead to serious complications, infertility and even death.

Live Action recently released a video investigation that reveals insights into how chemical abortion pills are allegedly distributed with minimal oversight and without patients being notified of potentially serious complications.

“Women will suffer from this being on the market in the way that it is. And the more that happens and the more stories are exposed, I think that'll probably wake up the American public to some extent,” Bennett told The Center Square. “We don't want that to happen. We don't want women to be hurt. But we know that it is happening, and unfortunately, when it does happen, sometimes that's the only thing that wakes people up because they are believing the lies of the industry that this is just about women's health and safety, and it's not at all.”

TCS reached out to Planned Parenthood for response to the Live Action video but did not receive a response in time for publication.

According to plannedparenthood.org "medication abortion is very safe. In fact, it’s safer than many other medicines like penicillin, Tylenol, and Viagra."

Christian said that rather than getting into the business of promoting abortion, the state should put its emphasis on healing women who undergo the procedure and experience regret.

“I can tell you it’s been 40-plus years, and I regret that decision today," he said. "I should have been a man. I should have taken her out of there. But I didn’t.”

Each one of Christian’s amendments was rejected and SSB 5917 passed on a 32-17 vote, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in voting yes on final passage.

It now awaits consideration by the House.