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Committee hears bill to repeal "concealing birth" crime, limit coroner jurisdiction and require reporting of pregnancy loss in detention
Summary
Senate Bill 5093 would remove certain deaths related to known or suspected abortions and pregnancy losses from coroner/medical examiner jurisdiction, repeal the crime of concealing birth, and require detention facilities to report miscarriages and stillbirths to the Department of Health for annual legislative reporting.
The Law & Justice Committee heard public testimony Jan. 20 on Senate Bill 5093, a proposal lawmakers described as protecting the dignity of people who experience pregnancy loss by removing outdated criminal penalties and limiting routine coroner inquiries into known or suspected abortions, premature births or stillbirths.
Senator (Chair) Dhingra, the bill’s prime sponsor, said the measure would "repeal the crime of concealing birth" — a gross misdemeanor created in 1909 that is rarely used in Washington but has been used in other states to criminalize people after pregnancy loss. The bill would also remove routine coroner and medical…
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