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West Virginia Legislature Outlaws Abortion

The West Virginia Legislature has banned abortion with some exceptions.

Updated Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

The West Virginia Legislature has now passed House Bill 302, outlawing abortion in West Virginia, with limited exceptions.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 22 to 7 with 5 members absent. The bill then moved to the House of Delegates, which passed it by a vote of 77 to 17 with six members absent.

The bill included exceptions for fetal anomalies, medical emergencies and non-viable fetuses. It also has a provision in cases of rape or incest — with certain contingencies. Any abortion performed must be done so in a hospital within eight weeks for adults and 14 weeks for minors.

In instances of legal abortion, the procedure is limited to M.D.s and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine. Doctors who perform an abortion as part of a medical emergency would not be penalized.

There will be no felony penalties for doctors or pregnant women, but the law would make it a felony for anyone who performs an abortion who is not a licensed professional.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, questioned Majority Leader Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, about the bill’s impact as it would relate to attracting medical professionals and the potential loss of licensure for practicing obstetricians. Takubo is a doctor.

“I think it would be devastating, but I believe the bill also very clearly describes what the law intends, which is not to engage in abortion of a healthy fetus if it does not go to one of the exemptions of rape or incest, or if there is not a question of risk or harm to the mother,” Takubo said. “So currently, today, if a physician does something that is against the law, a physician will face and will likely lose their license.”

In reaction to today’s announcement, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, West Virginia Free and the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia released the following statement:

“After weeks of deal-making behind closed doors, the West Virginia Legislature
has banned abortion, subjecting half of the state’s population to second-class status and placing lifesaving health care out of reach for tens of thousands.”

Katie Quiñonez, executive director of the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia said the passage of the bill is a huge blow to the state.

“West Virginians will now have to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles away from their homes and incur massive costs to access essential, lifesaving care,” Quiñonez said.

The bill now heads to Gov. Jim Justice for his signature. Both chambers made the bill effective from passage.

House Special Session On Abortion To Be Short And Administrative

The West Virginia House of Delegates will be called back into special session Monday to continue the process of clarifying West Virginia’s abortion laws. The session is expected to be short and administrative and any resolution still seems a long way off.

The West Virginia House of Delegates will be called back into special session Monday to continue the process of clarifying West Virginia’s abortion laws.

The session is expected to be short and administrative and any resolution still seems a long way off.

Back in July, Gov. Jim Justice called the West Virginia Legislature into a special session to discuss personal income tax. At the last minute, he added abortion to the call. After days of discussion, the two chambers could not agree on either piece of legislation.

On Friday, Sept. 2, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, said he is calling the House of Delegates back into session to name a five member conference committee intended to meet with a Senate conference committee — and attempt to forge an agreement.

Del. Dianna Graves, R-Kanawha, and pro-life, said the administrative session shows the House is ready to do business.

She said she doesn’t believe in killing any child who is viable as long as the life of the mother is preserved and she doesn’t agree with exceptions. But she said if the reality of exemptions for rape and incest is a building block that will curtail abortion in the state, then the legislature should pass it — and work on improving it.

“Are we going to say we’re not going to save any baby’s lives, because we can’t save every single one of them,” Graves said. “I just don’t think that makes logical sense. I don’t think that the end of the road has been reached.”

Del. Ed Evans, D-McDowell, and pro-choice, said he is also ready to consider compromise. He calls it a “no-brainer” to not force a woman to carry a child from rape or incest.

“We saw the young lady there on the news not too long ago, 14 years old,” Evans said. “She’s a child being forced to carry a child. Some things bother me. But I don’t think Sen. [Craig] Blair wants anything to do with it.”

Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berekley, said his number one priority is to shut down West Virginia’s only abortion clinic and see that 98 percent of abortions taking place are stopped when it comes to exemptions for rape and incest. But he said he will not call the Senate back into session, and not form a conference committee, to forge any agreement until he knows what the results will be.

“They can make a decision then be voted down in this body,” Blair said. “I am not interested in wasting a minute of time or the taxpayers’ dollars. This is not going to make it so that there’s going to be back alley, coat hanger, abortions taking place in this state.”

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is in the early stages of considering Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s appeal on an injunction ruling regarding the state’s abortion laws. There is currently a 19th century law on the books that some feel is enforceable, but still needs legislative attention. Until the legislature acts, or the supreme court decides, abortion is still legal in West Virginia.

Over the weekend, Justice also called the legislature into a new special session for Monday afternoon to consider bills on economic development and roads funding.

Judge Denies Injunction To Halt W.Va. Senate From Restricting Gallery Recordings

The question of whether the state Senate can restrict recording of meetings is still open after a court hearing on Thursday.

Kanawha Circuit Judge Carrie Webster refused to issue an injunction against the Senate that would have limited its authority to control chamber proceedings.

When Tiffani Morgan Walton tried to video record a heated July 29th Senate debate on the abortion bill from the gallery, she was threatened with arrest by the Capitol Police.

The ACLU of West Virginia filed legal actions, on Walton’s behalf, in state and federal courts against the West Virginia Senate, Senate President Craig Blair and the Capitol Police. They requested an injunction from Webster claiming the move violated their client’s first amendment rights and was a violation of an open meeting “sunshine” law, the West Virginia Open Governmental Meeting Act.

An attorney in the case said the act did not apply directly to the Senate or the House of Delegates. The attorney said the law applies to boards and committees, but not to the full Senate or House.

“The Senate has the power to control its galleries,” Senate attorney Michael Hissam said in court.

The attorney said Webster noted that language in the act shows the legislature may have exempted itself from the law.

Senate President Craig Blair said it’s his understanding that the rules on recording restriction options are the same for the U.S. House and Senate. He said the gallery rules on recording are posted and there’s full transparency.

“We are not trying to keep anybody from being aware of what’s going on and I can prove it,” Blair said. “Everything is available online. it’s archived for historical purposes, you can see everything that takes place.”

However, Blair said with the subject matter of abortion being passionately debated on the Senate floor, the gallery became out of control, forcing him to clear the gallery and shut off all recording cameras.

“When I put the Senate in recess and had the sergeant arms clear the gallery, what you couldn’t see or hear was all the profanities being shouted from the galleries by these people,” Blair said. “It was an embarrassing moment and there may be recordings of that out there, I have no idea. But I’m pretty certain that the Senate recording system, whenever I put us into recess for 15 minutes, our cameras were turned off.”

Webster asked both sides to research if the open meetings law applies to the Senate, prepare new briefs and then return to court later in the fall.

Senate Considers Abortion Bill Friday For Third Reading

West Virginia’s bill that would make abortion illegal in the state with few exceptions, now sits in the Senate with a third reading planned for Friday.

House Bill 302 passed the state House of Delegates Wednesday by a vote of 69-23.

It moved to the Senate late Wednesday where a first reading of the bill was heard.

The Senate held its second reading of the bill Thursday morning before adjourning until Friday at 1 p.m.

The bill is expected to be read a third time with a right to amend. At that point, floor debate can begin.

A final vote could take place on Friday. The current version includes a provision for victims of rape and incest that passed narrowly. If the Senate amends the House version, the bill will still need to return to the House for approval.

Following Thursday’s second reading of the bill, during member remarks, Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, said physicians and gynecologists in West Virginia are “very worried” about the proposed new law. He urged his colleagues to carefully consider the “unintended consequences” of passing the bill as it currently stands.

Stollings shared a letter from the chair and vice chair of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists who expressed their strong reservations about the bill.

“We understand there is a provision for victims of rape or incest to terminate pregnancies up to 14 weeks. Unfortunately this exception is only allowed if rape or incest is reported. For a variety of reasons, most women and girls who are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and reproductive coercion do not report the attack, or ongoing attacks to law enforcement. This law would be yet another failure to care for these women or girls.”

No senators spoke in favor of the bill during member remarks.

House of Delegates Passes Abortion Law, Moves To Senate

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a new law outlawing abortion with a few medical exceptions and in the case of rape or incest when there is a police report — as long as it is within 14 weeks. The Senate completed the first reading of the bill and will take it up again on Thursday.

On Monday, Gov. Jim Justice called the legislature into a special session to “clarify and modernize” the state’s abortion-related laws that currently exist as part of the state’s code.

Wednesday’s 69-23 (8 absent) vote by the House of Delegates sent House Bill 302 to the West Virginia Senate.

The bill states that all of West Virginia’s current abortion laws are no longer effective and creates a new article consolidating the regulation of abortion.

The bill bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy with few exceptions. Those include instances of a non medically viable fetus, a medical emergency, or an ectopic pregnancy – a rare event in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus and cannot survive.

The definition of abortion has been changed to include the use of any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy.

The word pregnancy has replaced the word fetus.

New definitions include contraceptive ectopic pregnancy implantation and in vitro fertilization.

As defined in the bill, the following are not considered an abortion:

A miscarriage or stillbirth, or the use of existing established cell lines derived from aborted human embryos or fetuses.

Medical treatment provided to a patient by a licensed medical professional that results in the accidental death of or unintentional injury or death of a fetus, in-vitro fertilization and human fetal tissue research when performed in accordance with federal laws and regulations.

The bill does not outlaw the prescription, sale, transfer or use of contraceptive devices, instruments, medicines or drugs.

If an abortion is performed through the use of an exception, the following actions are still required:

If the patient is an unemancipated minor, the current parental notification statute has been reinserted and has not been changed.

The bill also states that if an exempted abortion is performed, a report is required to be submitted to the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health.

A partial birth abortion is not considered a permitted form of exempted abortion. This creates a cross reference to the criminal code where the criminal penalty is established.

Additionally, a licensed medical professional who violates a provision of this article could be subject to discipline from their licensure board. The bill contains criminal penalty enforcement unless the abortion is permitted.

There are no criminal penalties in the bill for the mother.

Public Hearing On Abortion Law Debate Highly Charged, Emotional

More than 100 people signed up to speak at a public hearing Wednesday on the abortion bill.

With so many wanting to speak, each person was given 45 seconds. Several were escorted out of the chamber by police for running overtime.

Several of the women who spoke said they have had one or multiple abortions. Others said not having an abortion made their lives better.

Rev. Emily Harden, a Presbyterian minister, said she did not regret her two abortions.

“They’ve made my life better. They’ve made my children’s lives better,” Harden said. “It is perfectly acceptable within my religious faith that I’ve done this. The way that we are using religion to make laws that govern our bodies is truly evil. And I hope that you all know that the blood of West Virginians will be on your hands.”

Lorie Lugursky, with West Virginians for Life, said she got pregnant at 15 and was told abortion was her best choice.

“Wrong. At five months pregnant laying on an abortionist table, God saved my baby girl,” Lugursky said. “The abortionist told me to get out as I was being uncooperative. And my daughter now, praise God, is a mother of three. She’s a pro life warrior.”

Sean O’Leary, Senior Policy Analyst at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy spoke of cause and effect.

“Too often, policies in the state disproportionately harm vulnerable people, abortion bans are no different,” O’Leary said. “Seventy five percent of people who seek abortions are low income people without access to family work supports like parental leave or affordable childcare. Over half have recently gone through disruptive life events such as death of a family member or job loss. Most already have a child when access to abortion is denied. The consequences are profound.”

Tranae Mathis listed her representation as a servant of Jesus Christ.

“We as women know that two pink lines mean that we are carrying life and abortion stops that beating heart,” Mathis said. “The goal of an abortion is always prenatal death, and the baby is the only one with no bodily autonomy because her mother has deemed her insignificant.”

The public hearing was requested by legislators as a part of the proceedings for House Bill 302, called by the governor to clarify the state’s conflicting abortion laws.