Washington’s ban on the sale or advertising of over-the-counter sexual assault evidence kits was upheld by a federal judge on Monday.
Proponents of Washington’s law, passed in 2023 as House Bill 1564, said over-the-counter kits aren’t sufficient compared to forensic sexual assault examinations by trained medical staff. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office called the kits “rarely, if ever, admissible in court.”
Pennsylvania-based Leda Health, the company that challenged the state law, said it plans to appeal Monday’s ruling.
Formerly known as MeToo Kits, Leda Health says the company’s kits offer survivors an alternative if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable going to the police or a hospital. The company was founded by Madison Campbell, a survivor of sexual assault who said she created the kits due to her own experiences.
In its lawsuit, Leda argued that the state’s 2023 ban targets sexual assault survivors and violates First Amendment rights related to free speech and advertising.
But U.S. District Court Chief Judge David G. Estudillo disagreed, ruling that the statute is “an economic regulation of the sale of a particular product,” not a regulation of speech.
“This is a legal victory for sexual assault survivors,” Ferguson said. “By an overwhelming bipartisan vote, the Legislature adopted this state law that prevents companies from exploiting sexual assault survivors. Survivors should know that they are not alone — critical services to help them seek justice are available from trained medical professionals, at no cost.”
In a Tuesday statement, the company claimed the decision meant Washington can “ban the sale of all items that survivors can use to collect evidence of their sexual assault, including items as common as Ziploc bags and iPhones.”
“At Leda Health, we believe this is insane,” the release said. “Survivors should have control over their own recovery process.”
(The law does not ban those products, it bans selling those products by describing them as part of a sexual assault kit.)
Campbell said Washington was taking a “hostile approach to sexual assault survivors and their recovery journey.”
Ferguson’s office pointed survivors to the Washington State Sexual Assault Forensic Exam website, which offers a searchable database of medical providers by county trained to provide sexual assault exams with forensic evidence collection.
Washington’s free sexual assault forensic exams, or SAFE kits, are also sent to Washington State Patrol for processing and uploaded to a federal database used to identify repeat offenders.
Leda, which also offers other services for survivors, such as emergency contraception, is fighting similar legal battles with other states over its kits.
Pennsylvania’s attorney general countersued Leda Health in June after the company sued New York and Pennsylvania over cease-and-desist letters sent by the two states; that lawsuit is still ongoing. Maryland has a similar ban to Washington’s that passed in May.
Washington also sent a cease-and-desist order to Leda Health in 2022 that said the company’s advertising included “patently false” claims, including marketing that may lead survivors to believe the company’s kits are comparable to free state kits. Leda Health ended sales in Washington in response and hasn’t sold in the state since.