The West Virginia Legislature on Tuesday approved a sweeping abortion ban with few exceptions, passing a bill that several members of the Republican majority said they hope will make it impossible for the state’s only abortion clinic to continue offering the procedure.
“He’s going to close that abortion clinic, I’m sure of that,” Republican Sen. Robert Karnes said on the Senate floor, amid shouts from protesters standing outside the chamber doors. “I think it’s going to save a lot of babies.”
Under the legislation, victims of rape and incest could have abortions up to eight weeks pregnant, but only if they first inform law enforcement. Such victims who are minors would have up to 14 weeks to terminate a pregnancy and must inform the police or a doctor.
Victims of rape and incest would have to report the assault within 48 hours of the abortion, and the patient must present a copy of a police report or a notarized letter to a doctor before the procedure can be performed.
Abortions would also be allowed in cases of medical emergencies.
West Virginia joins the ranks of states moving to ban abortion following the US Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to privacy that protected abortion rights across the country.
That left it up to states to decide whether abortion should remain legal, which in turn has sparked intense debates at the state level, especially in Republican-controlled states, about when to impose a ban, whether to make exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or the health of the woman giving birth, and how those exceptions should be implemented.
The West Virginia bill now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who has signed several anti-abortion bills into law since taking office in 2017.
Lawmakers resumed debate on the bill Tuesday after failing to reach an agreement in late July, forgoing a chance for the state to become the first to pass new legislation restricting access to abortion since the ruling. of the highest federal judicial forum in June.
Both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies quickly approved the bill, after several hours of debate. Dozens of protesters wearing pink T-shirts reading “bans outside our bodies” and carrying signs reading “abortion is health care” rallied in the Capitol rotunda while lawmakers were in session.
Protesters, lawmakers and health experts oppose the measure
Some members of the group sat in the gallery as lawmakers discussed the bills, and some yelled at lawmakers in frustration as they spoke in favor of the bill. Legislative leadership asked that viewers remain silent while legislators conducted business. At one point, at least one protester was escorted out of the building by police.
Lawmakers inserted several provisions that they said specifically targeted the West Virginia Women’s Health Center, which was the state’s first abortion clinic when it opened in 1976 following the landmark Roe v. Wade. Since then, it has existed as the state’s only abortion clinic for years, making it an increasing target of anti-abortion lawmakers and protesters.
The piece of legislation establishes that surgical abortions can only be performed in a state-licensed hospital by a doctor with hospital privileges. Anyone else who performs an abortion, including nurse practitioners and other medical professionals, could face three to 10 years in prison. A doctor who performs an illegal abortion could lose his or her medical license.
Some 16 states and the District of Colombia have protected access to abortion through legislation, and several states have sought to expand or strengthen those protections this year.
However, pregnant people who obtain illegal abortions will not face any form of prosecution under the bill.
Kaylen Barker, a spokeswoman for the West Virginia Women’s Health Center, said the clinic will not close, even if the staff can no longer perform abortions. Like many clinics that perform abortions, the center did not offer the procedure every day.
Most days are dedicated to services such as gender-affirming hormone therapy, HIV prevention and treatment, and routine gynecological care such as cervical exams, cancer screenings, etc. These services are primarily offered to low-income Medicaid patients who have nowhere else to go.
Democratic Senator Owens Brown spoke out against the bill before it passed the Senate. The official said that when he looks at his fellow legislators, he sees a body that is made up mostly of white men, middle-aged to elderly, middle class or higher.
Brown compared groups of men who passed laws overwhelmingly impacting women to laws passed by white lawmakers when slavery was legal in the United States. Similarly, the legislator pointed out that “not all laws are good laws made by men.”
“It’s irrational in many ways to be able to apply a law that will never apply to you,” he told fellow lawmakers. “It’s easy for you to sit there and do that because you never have to face the consequences of your actions.”
For this bill to go into effect, Governor Jim Justice must first sign it.