News

Today, Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law the Dignity in Pregnancy Loss Act(SSB 5093). This bill will ensure Washingtonians are not investigated or criminalized for their pregnancy losses. It also requires jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers to report pregnancy losses to the state annually, an important first step to address the disparate pregnancy outcomes of incarcerated people.  

In the past two decades, at least 1,300 people have been criminally prosecuted in the U.S. for having miscarriages, stillbirths, or self-managing an abortion. This criminalization is all too often based on who someone is. “No one should have to fear that their pregnancy loss could lead to being investigated or criminalized. But as someone who provides legal defense in these cases, I have seen firsthand how the law can be misused to punish someone for their pregnancy outcome. Being criminalized after such a loss, or after having a self-managed abortion, is horrifically destructive to someone’s life—even when the charges are dismissed or overturned,” said Sara L. Ainsworth, Chief Legal and Policy Director at If/When/How. “Everyone who experiences a pregnancy loss should have the space to take care of themselves, process, or grieve in the way that’s best for them. This law is an important step to curb the likelihood that someone will be criminally investigated for their own pregnancy loss.” 

SSB 5093 ensures that Washingtonians are not investigated for their pregnancy loss, no matter the cause, or for having an abortion outside the medical system. It repeals an unnecessary rule that required coroners to investigate every fetal death based on a suspicion that someone had an abortion. “Pregnancy loss is not a crime — yet Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities have long faced criminalization instead of care,” said Yvette Maganya, Lobbyist at Legal Voice. “This bill marks a vital step toward justice, ensuring people are met with dignity, not investigations, in one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. It sends a clear message: grief is not suspicious, and no one should be punished for experiencing loss.”

Repealing this requirement prevents unnecessary and intrusive investigations into people who lost pregnancies, ensures that people who lost pregnancies do not have to wait for a coroner’s investigation to end to have remains returned to them for disposition, and helps destigmatize pregnancy loss, which is experienced disproportionately by Black, Indigenous, and low-income Washingtonians.

“Since Dobbs, there has been a surge in the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes of all kinds, with Black, Indigenous, and communities of color being disproportionately targeted. As we’re seeing relentless attacks against reproductive rights at the federal level, Washington is sending a clear message that our state is a place where everyone has the right to bodily autonomy and the ability to make decisions that are best for them and their families,” said Gabbi Nazari, Govt. Relations Director at Pro-Choice Washington. “Because of this law, when patients lose a pregnancy, they will be treated with respect, dignity and compassion, regardless of their identity. Washington state is setting an example of how other states can strengthen protections for people who experience pregnancy loss and other pregnancy outcomes.”

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly collects and publishes data on pregnancy outcomes and maternal death, the Bureau of Justice Statistics does not request this information from correctional authorities. Yet, incarcerated and detained people are at higher risk of having a miscarriage or stillbirth. This bill would give Washingtonians important information about how to prevent and provide services for people who experience pregnancy loss in these institutions.