CHARLESTON, W.Va.–A controversial bill that bans abortions in the state after 20 weeks unless there is a medical emergency passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday night and now heads to the full Senate where it is expected to pass.
The committee approved the bill on a voice vote, despite a warning from the committee’s attorney that it is unconstitutional because it prohibits abortions prior to fetal viability (generally thought to be 23-24 weeks).
Pro-life lawmakers and lobbyists, including John Carey of West Virginians for Life, are pushing the bill. They argue that the unborn child/fetus can feel pain by the end of the fifth month of the pregnancy, and the state has an interest at that point in protecting the baby.
“And certainly the people of West Virginia care about whether or not a five-month-old baby feels pain,” Carey said.
Carey also disputed the argument that the bill is unconstitutional.
However, Dr. Lori Tucker, an OBGYN from Princeton, W.Va., said she fears the legislation will prevent her from caring properly for her patients.
“This is not going to stop the girl from getting an abortion; she’s going to go somewhere else to get that,” an emotional Tucker told the committee. “The one thing this gets done (is), it takes the doctors in that 20 to 24 week span and ties our hands.”
The House has already passed a different version of the bill, so if the Senate passes HB 4588, lawmakers from both chambers will have to agree on a compromise before the midnight Saturday end of the regular session.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, West Virginia is one of only nine states that does not limit abortions at any point in the pregnancy. However, West Virginia Free, a pro-choice organization, points out that abortions after 20 weeks are rare; only seven were preformed last year in West Virginia and those were because of severe fetal abnormalities.
Under the bill, a doctor can be found guilty of a misdemeanor and fined up to $4,000 for a violation.
If the bill passes and Gov. Tomblin signs it, West Virginia would become the tenth state to ban abortions at 20 weeks post-fertilization.