Tag: Roe v. Wade

Us & Them: What’s Next For Abortion?

New legislative agendas at the state level aim to chip away at reproductive rights, even in states that recently passed constitutional protections for abortion. On this episode of Us & Them, Host Trey Kay examines how conservative state supreme courts might limit voter-approved amendments — and how abortion-friendly states are pushing back. Meanwhile, President Trump’s new administration could override all state laws through certain executive actions, including one involving a 19th century anti-vice law. Now that the election’s over, what’s next for abortion?

There’s a fresh slate of legislative agendas in the new year and some include efforts to chip away at reproductive rights and access to abortion, even in states that have recently passed constitutional abortion rights ballot measures.

On this episode of Us & Them, Host Trey Kay looks at what’s ahead after a record number of initiatives passed in November. There’s a lot that conservative legislatures and courts can do to limit the voter-approved amendments. While legal maneuvering continues, the number of abortions in the U.S. is at its highest level in more than a decade thanks to the increased use of abortion pills and travel across state lines. 

Abortion opponents want President Donald Trump to enforce a 19th century law they say will stop abortion pills through the mail. Meanwhile, abortion-friendly states are using shield laws to protect their telehealth abortion providers from criminal prosecution for providing abortion pills to women in states with bans. The U.S.’s inconsistent abortion laws are pitting states against each other, and state governments against their citizens. 

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the CRC Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Rick Weiland is chairman of Dakotans for Health. He led the campaign to pass Amendment G in South Dakota. The amendment followed the legal framework outlined in Roe v. Wade. There would be no restrictions on abortions in the first trimester, but increasing limitations after that, including a ban in the third trimester with few exceptions. The proposed amendment did not get support from regional chapters of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU.

Photo Credit: Dakotans for Health

“We got attacked from the religious right for putting a measure on the ballot that they tagged as too extreme. And we got attacked from the left for not going far enough. We had embraced the trimester tenets of Roe v. Wade, thinking that that was a good middle ground in South Dakota. So, we were kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, wanting to work with them [Planned Parenthood and the ACLU], wanting their help. But at the end of the day, they just chose to not get involved with our efforts, which was unfortunate.”

– Rick Weiland

Romy Ellenbogen is a journalist who reports on Florida’s state government for the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald. She wrote about Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to undermine support for Amendment 4, which would have overturned Florida’s six-week ban on abortion.

Photo Credit: Romy Ellenbogen

“In the months leading up to the election is when Gov. DeSantis really went full throttle on Amendment 4. If you were to scroll on social media, if you were to watch TV, you would see these state sponsored PSAs [public service announcements] that really were put there to counter pro-Amendment 4 language. The Department of State had certified Amendment 4 to appear on the ballot early in 2024 and then months later, turns out they’re conducting this big review and pulling all of these petitions. Election supervisors that we spoke to said it was unprecedented for the state to review petitions that they had already deemed as valid compared to, in a fraud review, looking at rejected petitions, which is what the state would have normally done.”

– Romy Ellenbogen

Democrat Rep. Margaret Croke represents the Illinois House of Representatives’ 12th District, which comprises Chicago’s lakefront communities, including Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park and East Lakeview. She was reelected to a third term in 2024 and has made reproductive rights, women’s health and children her special focus. Illinois is one of five states that allow for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments and have yet to consider one. Illinois has many laws protecting reproductive rights. Croke said the legislature chose not to place an abortion rights constitutional amendment on the ballot, the way the abortion-friendly states of New York and Maryland did, because they’re confident the laws are not in immediate danger of a Republican rollback. She said Democratic lawmakers also wanted more time to consider other rights they may want to protect following the fall of Roe.

Photo Credit: Illinois House Democrats

“Some of these other things that kind of fell in the Roe v. Wade decision that we had this assumption to the right of privacy. And in Illinois, do we want to make sure at the same time that we are going to put a constitutional amendment about choice? Do we want to include any of those other issues in the same breath? And if we are going to do something ‘choice plus,’ we need to make sure that messaging is just incredibly well done. And that takes time. It takes education. So I think that that is the conversation we’re having right now.” 

– Illinois State Rep. Margaret Croke, 12th District

Jessie Hill, Esq. is a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is also a volunteer attorney with the ACLU of Ohio and helped write the reproductive rights amendment known as Issue 1, which Ohioans passed in 2023. Hill said Ohio was the first red state to pass a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to an abortion. It allows for abortion up to fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks of pregnancy. In light of the passage of Issue 1, Hill asked a trial judge to overturn Ohio’s six-week ban, which he did. Another judge has stayed other abortion restrictions, including Ohio’s 24-hour waiting period, its ban on telehealth medication abortions and certain informed consent requirements. Those cases are likely to go before an Ohio Supreme Court that, since the election, now has a 6-1 Republican majority.

Photo Credit: Case Western Reserve University

“The language is written very broadly. It lays out a very clear legal test for courts to apply. The trial courts who have addressed it have found it very understandable and very protective.

“I would like to think that whatever party identification is next to a judge’s name, that they will read the law and apply the law as it’s written. I would like to think that, regardless of what their party composition is, that they’re going to do their jobs. It certainly is a cause for concern as an attorney and as an attorney who may be litigating in front of that court. But, you know, like I said, in theory and, you know, according to what conservative justices say, they believe that the text of the Constitution is worthy of respect and it’s what they have to follow. And I think if they do that, we should still win all of our cases.“

– Jessie Hill, law professor and volunteer attorney, ACLU of Ohio

Mike Gonidakis is an attorney and the president of Ohio Right to Life, the largest anti-abortion advocacy group in the state. Gonidakis and the organization have worked closely with Republican lawmakers to craft Ohio’s abortion regulations. He said Issue 1’s language is vague and will require the expertise of the conservative Ohio Supreme Court.

Photo Credit: Ohio Right To Life

“We just elected three Ohio pro-life Supreme Court justices and the current makeup of the court, which is seven members, six of them are endorsed by Ohio Right to Life. So, I can’t guess what they’re going to do. But here’s what I told the voters of Ohio this last election when they were considering who to vote for. Do you want a liberal pro-choice majority on the court writing the first decision on Issue 1? Or do you want a conservative pro-life court writing the first decision on Issue 1? And the voters of Ohio overwhelmingly chose the conservative court.”

– Mike Gonidakis, Ohio Right to Life

Julie F. Kay – who is not related to Trey – is a human rights attorney and the co-founder and executive director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, ACT. Kay said the goal of the ACT is to help more doctors set up telehealth abortion practices to provide medication abortion for women in all 50 states, including states with near-total bans. Eight states shield telehealth abortion providers who send abortion pills to women in states with bans from prosecution by those states. New York is one of those eight states. Its shield law is currently being challenged by Texas, which brought a lawsuit against a New York doctor who sent abortion pills to a 20-year-old woman in Texas in violation of the state’s abortion ban.

Photo Credit: Footsteps

“So, if there’s a patient in Arkansas who’s looking for access to a medication abortion and either can’t travel or doesn’t want to, she can go online to one of the telemedicine providers in a shield state who serves all 50 states and does the screening. The doctor sends the medications to Arkansas. She gets her medications. And let’s say, her angry ex-husband or something, is like, ‘I don’t approve of this. I’m going after the doctor,’ and tries to get a criminal warrant against the doctor in New York. The state of New York, because of their shield law, is not going to send that provider down to Arkansas on a criminal charge.” 

– Julie Kay, Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine

James Bopp, Jr. is the founder of the Bopp Law Firm in Terre Haute, Indiana. He is the longtime general counsel to National Right to Life. He’s one of the top legal minds in the conservative movement. The New York Times has called him “the most prolific anti-abortion litigator of his generation” and a “bulldog litigator.” Anti-abortion advocates like Bopp want President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice to start enforcing the Comstock Act of 1873. The law prohibits the mailing of obscene material, including anything designed to produce an abortion. It’s been amended over the years, but the statute’s abortion language remains. Bopp sees the Comstock Act as a way of stopping telehealth abortion providers and online retailers from mailing abortion pills to people. It could also halt the makers of those pills from shipping them to abortion providers. Abortion rights advocates say this is a misapplication of Comstock that has been rejected by the courts. But Bopp sees it as an action Trump can take without going against his campaign promise to leave abortion regulations to the states.

Photo Credit: James Bopp, Jr.

“Interstate transport is not governed by the states. Interstate transport is governed by federal law. And federal law already has a prohibition on interstate transport of abortion drugs. So there’s no new law. It’s been around for quite a while. It’s very specific. So, his [Trump’s] commitment not to try to limit abortion in the states by federal law is perfectly consistent with the federal government’s authority to regulate interstate activities. And that’s what he would be doing with the Comstock Act.”

– James Bopp, Jr., general counsel for National Right to Life

Other WVPB reports on the subject of abortion:

**Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported Allysa Wagner’s title. She is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and Medical Director of Hey Jane.

Us & Them: They’ve Been Here Before

As 2025 begins, some states are poised to pass tighter abortion restrictions, building on more than 40 bans enacted since Roe v. Wade was overturned. On the next episode of “Us & Them,” host Trey Kay revisits the fight for reproductive care, talking with a retired Episcopal priest who recalls how liberal clergy helped women navigate the barriers of the pre-Roe era. Now, some of those same clergy are pulling that playbook off the shelf as anti-abortion supporters push for new federal limits.

With the start of 2025, legislators in some states are determined to pass even tighter abortion restrictions. 

In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, more than 40 states have passed abortion bans — some with very limited exceptions. Abortion rights advocates are equally determined to expand access to reproductive care, and many are revisiting lessons from half a century ago, before legal abortion was guaranteed.

On the next episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay hears from retired Episcopal priest Jim Lewis, who decades ago joined a network of “Religious Left” clergy to help women navigate pre-Roe barriers. Kay also speaks with Margaret Chapman-Pomponio, executive director of West Virginia FREE, about how supporters of reproductive rights are preparing for a new era of advocacy, even as anti-abortion advocates urge a Republican majority in Congress to tighten medication regulations and enact a federal abortion ban.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the CRC Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

The Rev. Jim Lewis, left, and Margaret Chapman-Pomponio, right, at a convention in New Orleans, La., for the Spiritual Alliance of Churches for Reproductive Dignity. Lewis is a retired Episcopal priest who has championed social justice issues for more than a half-century. Before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, he was part of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion — a coalition that referred women from states where abortion was illegal to providers in New York, where the procedure was legal. Chapman-Pomponio is the executive director of West Virginia Free, an abortion rights and reproductive health advocacy nonprofit.

Photo Credit: Margaret Chapman-Pomponio

Other WVPB reports on the subject of abortion:

A Capitol Mural Controversy, Chronic Absenteeism And Two Years Post-Roe, This West Virginia Week

On this West Virginia Week, we mark two years since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which protected access to abortion nationally. We discuss how that’s changed reproductive health care in the Mountain State.

On this West Virginia Week, we mark two years since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which protected access to abortion nationally. We discuss what women are doing now.

This week also marked the 50-year anniversary of a heated debate over whether the Kanawha County Board of Education should adopt new, multicultural language arts textbooks. Trey Kay, host of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s podcast Us & Them, reflects on the controversy and his journey reporting on it.

Plus, we’ll hear about concerns over an unexpected figure popping up in a mural at the State Capitol, and how lawmakers are addressing chronic absenteeism in West Virginia schools.

Jack Walker is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick and Maria Young.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.

Study Finds Sterilization Rates Rose Post-Dobbs Decision

More young people are seeking and following through with permanent contraception procedures.

A new study found that rates of young people seeking permanent contraception have risen since the overturn of Roe v Wade. 

The study evaluated changes in rates of tubal ligation and vasectomy procedures among adults aged 18 to 30 following the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe in June of 2022, and West Virginia lawmakers convened a special session in September of that year in which they passed the state’s near-total abortion ban or the Unborn Child Protection Act.

The Unborn Child Protection Act, also known as House Bill 302, outlaws abortions in West Virginia except in cases when the mother’s life is in danger, or instances of rape and incest that are reported to law enforcement in a timely manner. Any abortion performed must be done so in a hospital within eight weeks for adults and 14 weeks for minors.

In a written statement, Kristin Sinning, Marshall Health obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, confirmed an increase in patients expressing interest in and proceeding with permanent sterilization within the past two years.

“Marshall Obstetrics and Gynecology offers patients a comprehensive range of contraception methods including permanent sterilization procedures,” Sinning wrote. “During the past two years, our clinics have experienced an increase in patients expressing interest in and proceeding with permanent sterilization. This is consistent with the findings outlined in the recent Journal of American Medicine Association article.”

Jacqueline Allison is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health Policy and Management and one of the authors of the study on rates of permanent contraception. She said the study was inspired by the conversations she had with friends and family following the overturning of Roe v Wade.

“I think a lot of people who with the capacity for pregnancy, including myself, felt a lot of fear and anxiety around the ruling,” Allison said. “And that fear and anxiety, as we saw in our study, translated to changes in contraceptive decision-making.”

Allison said the study found a substantial increase in both tubal ligation and vasectomy procedures among young people since the Dobbs decision. 

“We also found that this increase in tubal ligation procedures was twice that of the vasectomies,” Allison said. “It was also the increase was also sustained in the post Dobbs period, whereas for vasectomies, there was sort of an initial uptick, and then the rate leveled off.”

There could be multiple reasons for those rates, but Allison suspects people who can get pregnant are more likely to experience the consequences of not being able to terminate an unwanted or unsafe pregnancy. 

“Women disproportionately experience the health, social and economic consequences of abortion bans, whereas men may not experience those consequences as directly,” Allison said.

Another factor could be that men might not have health insurance coverage for a vasectomy. Allison explained that under the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, all private payers are required to cover contraceptives, at no additional cost to patients. 

“That mandate did not include the vasectomy,” Allison said. “So it’s also possible that men do not have insurance coverage for vasectomy, whereas women do have coverage for tubal ligation.”

Allison said she expected to see an increase in interest and follow through with permanent contraception procedures following the Dobbs decision, but did not expect the increase to be as pronounced as it was. She was also surprised to learn that younger people were already more interested in the procedures than their older counterparts were at their ages.

“Even before the Dobbs ruling, younger people were more likely to go out and get permanent contraception, or they were there, the rate was increasing, rather,” Allison said. “And that’s opposite, that’s not what we see when we look at like all adults or older adults. So it suggest to me that, you know, young people are increasingly choosing this option, even before Dobbs.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

Us & Them: The Geography Of Abortion

State borders are now all important in determining access to abortion. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, West Virginia’s only abortion clinic has moved across the border to Maryland to continue providing abortions.

State borders are the new front lines in the nation’s abortion battle. On this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay looks at the evolving geography of abortion. 

Since a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned federal abortion rights, 21 states have either banned or restricted abortion access, including West Virginia. Meanwhile, West Virginia’s neighbor, Maryland, is one of 22 states that are protecting abortion rights and expanding access. 

Kay follows the decision of Women’s Health Center of West Virginia to move its abortion services from Charleston to a new clinic just over the border near Cumberland, Maryland. The move was intentional, because Western Maryland, like West Virginia, is a so-called abortion desert. The two regions have some deep political and cultural similarities. Western Maryland Republicans say they feel ignored by the overwhelmingly liberal, Democratic legislature in Annapolis. They say the new abortion clinic is not wanted or needed in their part of Maryland, and they blame the clinic’s presence on the fallout from Roe v. Wade’s defeat.  

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Katie Quiñonez stood in the waiting room of the Women’s Health Center of Maryland, located about 10 miles south of Cumberland, Maryland. Quiñonez is executive director of this health center. She is also the executive director of the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, which is located in Charleston and was West Virginia’s only abortion clinic until that state banned abortion in September 2022. The West Virginia center still provides reproductive health services, but in the summer of 2023, the Women’s Health Center relocated its abortion services to the Maryland clinic which is less than two miles from the West Virginia border.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Subsequent to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June 2022, Gov. Jim Justice signed a measure into law that banned abortions in West Virginia, with limited exceptions. Justice called the signed bill the “protect life” law. The law bans abortions in West Virginia except in cases when the mother’s life is in danger, or instances of rape and incest that are reported to law enforcement in a timely manner. Any abortion must be performed in a hospital within eight weeks for adults and 14 weeks for minors.

“I believe wholeheartedly that it does one thing that is absolutely so important. It does protect life.” — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Abortion access in the U.S. varied widely even during the Roe v. Wade era. Some states had lots of clinics, others had just a few. But every state had at least one. That changed when Dobbs ended the federal right to an abortion and let states come up with their own regulations.

Now, abortion access has become even more fragmented and deeply polarized. Fourteen states, including West Virginia, have essentially banned abortion. They have become what some call “abortion deserts.” Seven states have imposed stricter legal limits, while 22 states have moved to protect abortion rights and expand access. Maryland is one of those states.

In May 2023, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore approved laws that do several things. They allow a wider range of medical professionals to perform abortions. They maintain the privacy of abortion-related medical records. And they shield doctors and others from criminal investigations by states with more restrictive abortion laws.

“I’m very proud to sign legislation that will protect access to abortion in Maryland. In this moment of serious consequences for women and for all Marylanders, Maryland can and will lead on this issue of abortion access. And I want to say to all women who are out there who are wondering what will happen. Who are worried about their future. Please hear me loud and clear. Maryland will always be a safe haven for abortion access and abortion rights.” — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore

Credit: Gov. Wes Moore’s X (Twitter) Post
Maryland Democrats, who control the state’s legislature, want abortion rights written into the state constitution. The General Assembly has placed a reproductive rights amendment on the ballot for November 2024. Democratic Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk chairs the House Delegates’ Health and Government Services Committee, where the amendment was first considered. She said an abortion rights amendment is necessary, even though Maryland has been a reliably blue state for a long time.

“It’s necessary because we feel very strongly that we want Maryland to remain a state that protects abortion access. On the ballot this November, Maryland voters will once again be able to affirmatively and resoundingly say their reproductive freedom should be a constitutional right. It is the highest protection that we can give our constituents.” — Maryland Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk

Credit: Maryland Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D), MD 21
Maryland’s drive to protect abortion rights and access has attracted OB-GYNs to the state including Dr. Anne Banfield. She moved her practice to a hospital system in Southern Maryland after working for 13 years at a hospital in Elkins, West Virginia.

“I had spent a lot of years trying to recruit to our practice there and working a lot of shifts, taking a lot of calls. And then on top of that, you know, trying to advocate within the state, trying to advocate at the state government level to protect reproductive rights in West Virginia. And I got this great opportunity in Maryland, which is a very friendly and protective state from a women’s health and reproductive health standpoint. And we saw the writing on the wall, and I knew I was coming here and I was going to have to work less in a more friendly environment, and I just couldn’t pass that up. I don’t think I would have left otherwise.” — Dr. Anne Banfield, OB-GYN

Credit: Dr. Anne Banfield/MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital
Cresta Kowalski is the president of the Mountain Maryland Alliance for Reproductive Freedom. She said prior to the opening of the Women’s Health Center of Maryland, her group had been exploring how to bring an abortion clinic to Western Maryland.

“We were like, okay, a five to 10 year goal would be an indie clinic out here in mountain Maryland. And then in January, I get an email saying, ‘Hi, I’m Katie Quiñonez and my friend Ramsie Monk and I work with the Women’s Health Center of Charleston and we’d like to speak with you.’ And they had already found the location and it was perfect. It was made for the operation … I was relieved that we could have options for people that didn’t have options.” — Cresta Kowalski

Credit: Cresta Kowalski/Facebook
Michael Mudge is the pastor and founder of Bethany House of the Lord, an evangelical Christian church. He and several other anti-abortion advocates from Western Maryland came together to form Abortion Free Allegeny. He said their goals are to let people know about the clinic, organize demonstrations against it, and raise awareness about pregnancy support centers and other abortion alternatives. Mudge said he and others opposed to abortion do not like having a clinic in their backyard, but he knows it has a right to be there.

“What we’re dealing with here in Allegheny County, Maryland, is a direct result of the Dobbs decision. The West Virginia Legislature took the opportunity after the Dobbs decision to pass legislation effectively banning abortion. And the Maryland state legislature, as in many other states, has responded to the Dobbs decision by radicalizing even more their pro-abortion legislation. So, we’re caught up in the middle of that. It’s just that here, we’re in a part of Maryland that doesn’t fit well in Maryland.” — Michael Mudge

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Mudge referred to the political segregation that has deepened in Maryland as it has across the country. 

There’s the rural, conservative, Republican Maryland of the western panhandle, the eastern Chesapeake Bay, and the counties north of Baltimore. And there’s the urban, liberal, Democratic Maryland of Baltimore City, Annapolis and the D.C. suburbs that dominates state politics.

David Karol, an associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, said it wasn’t always like this.

Karol said his students were surprised to learn that in the presidential election of 1988, Republican George H. W. Bush won Maryland while Democrat Mike Dukakis won West Virginia.

“Which, you know, is just shocking to students, because that’s a complete reversal of the alignment that we see today,” Karol said.

“The [Maryland] legislature has been Democratic for about 100 years. The governorship has occasionally gone to Republicans, but seldom. And in presidential elections, Maryland has voted Democratic consistently since 1992.” – David Karol

Credit: David Karol/University of Maryland
Republican Mike McKay has represented Western Maryland in the Maryland General Assembly since 2015, first as a delegate and, for the last year, as a senator. He said his constituents have felt out of step with their overwhelmingly liberal Democrat fellow Marylanders. In 2021, then-Del. McKay and five other Republican lawmakers floated the idea of Garrett, Allegeny and Washington counties seceding from Maryland to become a part of West Virginia. They wrote a letter to the Republican leaders of West Virginia’s legislature to gauge their interest. It was a very, very long shot.

“We sent a letter and it became a dumpster fire, to be perfectly honest,” said McKay. “Everybody went crazy – ‘How are you leaving?’ Yada yada yada. And two of our members backed out. And the rest of us out of respect really just went our separate ways.”

McKay said his constituents are more aligned with West Virginia on abortion, too. He described himself as “pro-life” and said the Women’s Health Center of Maryland is not wanted or needed.

“I had a reporter from the Washington Post call me and do an interview, and she asked me, ‘How do you feel about this abortion clinic just moving across the state line, across the Potomac?’ I said, there’s never been a need for it. If there was a need for Planned Parenthood to move here, if there was actually this need, they would have been here by now. We have had women’s health clinics here for years. Probably 90 percent of everything that Planned Parenthood provides for women. And it’s important. That 90 percent is important to urban and rural women. It’s the abortion part that I say has been forced on our community, because Annapolis and Charleston had totally two different views, and our community has had to deal with the aftermath.” — Sen. Mike McKay

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Katie Quiñonez said she’s not forcing anything on Western Maryland.

“We did a market analysis and looked at what health care was available in those counties in mountain Maryland. And we found that not only was there not an abortion provider, the nearest abortion providers for the people living in mountain Maryland were at least 100 miles away in any direction. But there was also a real lack of reproductive health care, outside of a hospital system located in Cumberland. And then beyond that, we met directly with folks on the ground living and working in those communities to determine that, yes, there is a need here. Not only do we need abortion access, we need reproductive health care.” — Katie Quiñonez

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

This is what abortion care has become after the fall of Roe: a state-by-state fight over access, where abortion rights are determined by the lines on a map. The state line that divides West Virginia and Maryland runs through mountain communities that are alike in their topography, their culture and their political affiliations. 

But on one side of that state line, abortion is legal, while on the other side, abortion is a criminal offense.

ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit Against W.Va. Abortion Ban: Women’s Health Center Of West Virginia v. Sheth

West Virginia abortion providers and advocates filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court challenging multiple provisions of HB 302, the state’s near-total abortion ban passed in 2022. 

West Virginia abortion providers and advocates filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court challenging multiple provisions of HB 302, the state’s near-total abortion ban passed in 2022. 

Plaintiffs in the case are asking for an injunction blocking the entire ban while providers make their case in court. The suit says the ban is both irrational and unconstitutional. 

One complaint is that HB 302 was passed through the West Virginia Legislature in less than 24 hours, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. 

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued a statement almost immediately after the filing.

“We are ready to defend West Virginia’s abortion law to the fullest. This law reflects the will of the majority of the citizens of the state as relayed by their elected representatives in the State Legislature,” he said. “I will stand strong for the life of the unborn and will not relent in our defense of this clearly constitutional law.”

On Sept. 13, 2022, the West Virginia Legislature reconvened in a special session and passed House Bill 302, outlawing abortion in West Virginia, with limited exceptions. In instances of legal abortion, the procedure is limited to M.D.s and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine.

West Virginia had a law on the books banning abortion since before it became a state. The original code was enacted in 1849. The state’s lone abortion clinic, the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, joined a group of reproductive rights activists in quickly filing suit to have that 19th century law enjoined.

Now, plaintiffs in the case, Women’s Health Center of West Virginia and a local abortion provider, are asking the U.S. district court to issue an injunction blocking the entire ban pending a hearing. 

Under HB 302, if any portion of the law is determined to be unconstitutional, the entire law must be struck down.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of West Virginia, Mountain State Justice, and the Cooley law firm filed the lawsuit in the ​​U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of Women’s Health Center of West Virginia.

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