Despite a near total abortion ban in West Virginia, Republican lawmakers are introducing several bills related to further restricting the procedure. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
A group of Republican lawmakers want to remove the rape and incest exception in West Virginia’s near total abortion ban.
It’s one of several abortion-related measures introduced so far this session in the overwhelming Republican legislature that aim to discourage individuals from having the procedure.
In 2022, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, legislators passed a law banning abortion with narrow exceptions, including for medical emergencies and in cases of rape and incest. Adult victims are able to obtain abortions at up to eight weeks of pregnancy, but only if they report to law enforcement first.
Del. Lisa White, R-Berkeley, is the lead sponsor of House Bill 2712, which seeks to completely remove the rape and incest exception, including for minors who are victims of rape and incest and can currently access an abortion up to 14 weeks.
“I think what people are focusing on is that I don’t care about women or little kids or anything like that. That’s the furthest thing from the truth for me,” said White, who is new to the House of Delegates this year. “I do believe that life begins at conception, and I cannot, in my mind, rationalize that their lives don’t matter … because this baby was conceived under horrible, horrific circumstances, it’s still a life to me.”
The bill is co-sponsored by 10 other Republicans, including members of the House Health Committee, meaning the bill could move forward for vetting among members.
A Senate version of the bill had been introduced already this year, but its sponsor, Sen. Jay Taylor, R-Taylor, on Wednesday asked Senate leadership to withdraw the bill, saying he and his family had received numerous threats and intense criticism over its contents. The Senate unanimously voted to approve the bill’s removal.
House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, said the public’s response toward Taylor’s bill showed that it didn’t reflect the will of the people in the largely Red state.
“On the heels of a legislator rescinding a piece of legislation just like that, because the public spoke up on that … it just says that you are tone deaf and you’re not listening to the public, the constituents of West Virginia,” Hornbuckle said.”I think it’s reprehensible and actually disturbing that we are going to traumatize women with the mere fact of they don’t have a choice on their body.”
Emily Womeldorffof, director of policy and campaign for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said, “The introduction of HB 2712 is a clear indication that cruelty is not only the point of these continued attacks on abortion care, but the priority.”
Despite withdrawing his bill, Taylor said he stood by its contents as he believes life begins at conception.
“I never meant it to be anything about the rape and incest. I meant it to be about the baby,” Taylor said. “I’m pro life. I believe life begins at conception, and I don’t think two wrongs make a right.”
White filed her bill prior to Taylor pulling his legislation and said that her bill was not a response to the Senate situation. She said that, as of Thursday afternoon, she had received 150 phone calls about the legislation. “I just want to stress that I’m not a horrible person,” she said.
White said the measure may see an amendment to clarify or restrict the perpetrator’s access to the child. Additionally, she said the state needed to do better at helping women during their pregnancies and support adoption services.
“We need to be better at helping our moms and dads, when they’re in a crisis situation,” she said.
Democrats want West Virginia voters to decide on abortion access
Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican who is fiercely anti-abortion, has previously said that the state’s abortion ban should remain as it currently stands.
West Virginia is a “pro-life state,” Republicans say, pointing to a 2018 vote in which just under 52% of voters supported a constitutional amendment saying there is no right to abortion access in West Virginia.
Democrats, in response, are quick to note the vote happened in a pre-Dobbs reality, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that said the Constitution does not protect abortion rights.
Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, will try again this year to get an amendment on a statewide ballot that would ask voters to decide on whether a person has the right to make and carry out their own reproductive decisions, including access to an abortion and contraception. The measure failed to move last year in the heavily-Republican House of Delegates.
Hornbuckle, alongside eight other Democrats in the House, said his caucus will continue to stand up for women in West Virginia.
“Whatever she may choose to do with in consultation with her health care provider is her business and no one else’s,” he said. “West Virginia needs to understand loud and clear who’s going to stand up for them and who is standing against them.”
Other bills on abortion
In a state with poor maternal health outcomes, Womeldorff said lawmakers should focus on improving the care and health of families. West Virginia has a shortage of hospital care for mothers and babies in the rural state.
“If we’re going to be forcing people to carry pregnancies, they should take steps to make it safer for them,” she said.
Womeldorff is currently tracking eight abortion-related measures.
“Why are we doing this? … It is virtually impossible for anybody to get this care in this state,” she said.
The state’s only abortion clinic closed in 2022 after the ban went into effect. In 2023, there were 16 abortions in West Virginia.
Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston, has reintroduced a “Fetal Heartbeat Act” that would prohibit abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected with some exceptions. Smith that he will let his Republican caucus decide what bills will move forward.
Another Senate measure, introduced by Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jeffeson, would criminalize a health care provider who provides a chemical abortion via telehealth without physically examining the patient or being present at the location of the chemical abortion. It would not penalize the patient.
“I try to emphasize this is not adding to our prohibition in any way … I consider it a safety thing, that if a woman’s going to be given a chemical abortion, then she will be under supervision of a doctor,” Rucker said.
The legislation also requires manufacturers of abortion pills to include a “catch kit” for the disposal of the abortion drugs.
“Unfortunately, the systems that we have for cleaning impure water is not meant to catch those types of chemicals, which means that even things like birth control are in our water,” she said.
In the House, Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, hopes to modify the state’s Unborn Child Protection Act with a bill that would update what information must be shared with pregnant women seeking an abortion, including potential health risks. It would also mandate new requirements on advertisements about abortion access, including a requirement that they share the state’s health website.
“I am looking at getting detailed and appropriate information to those that are in a very difficult situation with their pregnancy,” he said. “I believe the out of state advertising that is up throughout the state is very misleading to our citizens. It would be great to bring a better understanding and clarity with that advertising.”
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