(The Center Square) – A bill that would require public colleges and universities in Washington state to offer medication abortion through student health centers has died in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
Senate Bill 5321 was referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Jan. 31 but hasn’t advanced since then, missing important committee deadlines last month.
According to a bill report, medication abortion is defined as “substances used during medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy including, but not limited to, mifepristone.”
Nicole Hunt, an attorney and life issues analyst at pro-family organization Focus on the Family, told The Center Square that “a chemical abortion, or medication abortion, is a two-step process.”
“The first pill, mifepristone, prohibits a baby’s further development and eventually kills it,” Hunt explained. “The second pill, misoprostol, expels the baby from the mother’s body.”
She added, “Chemical abortions represent about 63% of the abortions performed in the United States.”
Hunt told The Center Square that “schools should be in the business of educating and not killing children.”
Hunt went on to say that “thankfully, there is a way to reverse the pill’s effects if action is taken immediately,” and directed The Center Square to the Abortion Pill Reversal website, which states it uses the “natural hormone progesterone,” which when used means “medical professionals have been able to save 64-68% of pregnancies.”
According to the report for SB 5321, medication abortions shall be obtained “through the [school’s] student health center or through information and referral services to qualified health care organizations.”
Per the legislation, student health centers must offer medication abortion “either through a public program that connects patients in Washington to reproductive health services or through other delivery methods, such as telehealth.”
According to the legislation, if a school doesn’t have a student health center, it must “provide referrals” to health care providers who administer medical abortions, offer private spaces for telehealth appointments, provide technical support, such as internet access, and offer “electronic devices to access telehealth services.”
The bill would also require “public institutions of higher education to maintain a website on reproductive health,” according to the report
Had SB 5321, had it passed, would have taken effect “beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.”
Sen. T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest, is the bill’s primary sponsor.
Nobles’ public information officer, Olivia Heersink, directed The Center Square to the original news release.
“The bill aims to standardize reproductive health resources across campuses, ensuring all students – regardless of their location or institutional resources – have equal access to care,” the news release said.
According to SB 5321’s report, “Washington has six public baccalaureate institutions, and 34 community and technical colleges.”
