Gov. Jim Justice has approved legislation prohibiting people in West Virginia from seeking an abortion in situations involving possible disabilities to the child.
Justice on Monday signed Senate Bill 468, which states someone cannot receive an abortion in cases involving a disability or diagnosis to the fetus except when there is a medical emergency or if the fetus is “nonmedically viable.”
The new law prohibiting abortion in West Virginia, contradicts Roe v Wade, the landmark US Supreme Court ruling that says the right to privacy protects every woman’s choice to have or not have a baby without interference from the government.
Justice signed the anti-abortion measure on World Down Syndrome Day. Justice posted pictures of himself alongside individuals with Down syndrome on social media as part of his announcement regarding the bill.
“There was some kids out there, no question, that were struggling with different things, but those kids were so happy and such wonderful, wonderful gifts to all of us,” he said during Monday’s coronavirus briefing.
Abortion-rights advocates criticized the legislation during the 60-day legislative session. Margaret Chapman Pomponio, the executive director of WV FREE, contended the regulation would make it harder for people to seek abortion care in a state she described as a “maternity desert.”
“When you get that diagnosis, it is obviously a devastating one. We don’t believe the government should be intervening in what should be a private conversation with a patient and their provider,” she said.
The law will go into effect on June 10.
In West Virginia, Guttmacher Institute reported that the following restrictions on abortion were in effect as of January 1, 2022:
- A patient must receive state-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage the patient from having an abortion, and then wait 24 hours before the procedure is provided.
- The use of telemedicine to administer medication abortion is prohibited.
- The parent of a minor must be notified before an abortion is provided.
- Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape, incest, or fetal impairment and when the procedure is necessary to prevent long-lasting damage to the patient’s physical health.
- An abortion may be performed at 20 or more weeks postfertilization (22 weeks after the last menstrual period) only in cases of life endangerment or severely compromised health. This law is based on the assertion, which is inconsistent with scientific evidence and has been rejected by the medical community, that a fetus can feel pain at that point in pregnancy.
- The use of a safe, effective and commonly used method of second trimester abortion is prohibited. Abortions using dilation and evacuation are permitted only in cases of life endangerment or severely compromised physical health.
Guttmacher Institute and said that in 2017, some 98% of West Virginia counties had no clinics that provided abortions, and 90% of West Virginia women lived in those counties.