Committee advances bill to regulate ‘chemical abortion’ waste and water testing; DEQ flags technical limits

The House Labor, Health & Social Services Committee passed House Bill 159, a 25‑page measure the sponsor described as designed to protect water and public health from byproducts of medication abortions and to require physician oversight and specified disposal procedures for medication‑abortion waste.

Representative Bair (bill sponsor) told the committee the measure does not prohibit abortion but would require a physician to examine patients before prescribing mifepristone/misoprostol, require the physician be physically present when the first pill is taken, and require a follow‑up visit within seven days. The bill would also require providers to give patients a medical-waste bag and a “catch kit” to prevent drug residues and tissue from entering public wastewater; the draft includes civil and criminal liability for noncompliance and assigns liability to manufacturers if residues are detected in public water…