On Friday, the West Virginia Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans and has not reached a consensus on a bill that would outlaw abortions with few exceptions, the procedure will continue to be legal in the state for the time being.
Since the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade in late June, finding that there was no longer a federal constitutional right to the procedure, West Virginia is one of two states that have reconvened a special session to consider placing restrictions on abortion. The other state is North Dakota.
The West Virginia law that is presently being discussed, known as HB 302, has the intention of substantially restricting access to abortion in the state, where it is already permitted up to 20 weeks after fertilisation.
Except for a “foetus that is not medically viable,” a medical emergency, or an ectopic pregnancy, which is a rare event in which the fertilised egg implants outside of the uterus and cannot survive, HB 302 would make it illegal to terminate a pregnancy at any point during the nine months of gestation.
The bill, along with its amendments, was sent back to the House of Representatives on Friday after receiving a vote of 21 in favour and 10 against.
On Wednesday, the House had passed a different version of the bill. Later on Friday, members of that chamber decided not to adopt the proposed amendments and then adjourned without setting a new meeting time.
The version backed by the House added exclusions for rape and incest up until around 14 weeks of gestation and if a report was made to a “competent law enforcement officer.”
This was one of the noteworthy distinctions between the two versions. The legislation was altered by the Senate, and it was watered down such that it would permit exceptions in cases of rape or incest for eight weeks.
HB 302, which was approved by the House, had the additional goal of not only repealing a state statute from the 19th century that criminalised abortion but also reinstating the law’s criminal sanctions for medical practitioners who violate the abortion ban.
According to the proposed legislation, an abortion practitioner who breaks the law might face a felony charge and up to ten years in jail for their actions.
The House of Delegates and the Senate must reach a consensus on the legislative text before it can be delivered to Republican Governor Jim Justice.
Governor Justice had called back legislators for the special session to “clarify and modernise” West Virginia’s laws about abortion.
Miscarriages, stillbirths, in vitro fertilisation, and other forms of medical treatment that result in the accidental or unintentional death of pregnancy are not regarded to be abortions under any version of the proposed legislation.
The passage of this act would not make it impossible to purchase or make use of contraceptives. And those who provide abortion services would be required to inform the minor’s parents before going through with the procedure.
According to its definition, a medical emergency is “a condition that so complicates the medical condition of a patient as to necessitate an immediate abortion to avert the patient’s death or for which a delay will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.”
This definition does not include psychological or emotional conditions as examples of medical emergencies.
More than a dozen states are currently engaged in legal battles concerning abortion bans and other laws that greatly limit the procedure.
One of these states is West Virginia, where the Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has appealed an order from a state court judge blocking an 1849 law criminalising abortion from taking effect.
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In addition, a special session is currently being held in the state of Indiana, where legislators are scheduled to examine a bill on Saturday that would outlaw abortion in the state with certain exceptions.
