Both West Virginia’s Senate and House of Delegates are set to resume a special session to consider abortion policy at noon today.
“I want ’em to do something,” Gov. Jim Justice said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.” “That’s their job.”
The special session focused on a comprehensive abortion law went for a week in late July before being adjourned without agreement on key issues like whether medical providers should be subject to criminal penalties or exceptions in cases for rape or incest.
When that left off late on a Friday evening, the House of Delegates majority disagreed significant details in a bill the Senate majority had just passed. Delegates voted to establish a conference committee to work out differences.
A couple of weeks ago, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw announced that delegates would return this week, at least to name members of the conference committee. But Senate President Craig Blair, at that time, responded with a statement that he did not intend to take the same step until it was consensus was clear.
Earlier today, though, the leaders of both chambers announced that each would return at noon.
Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said he takes that call to mean a tentative agreement likely.
“So the fact that the chair has called us back in — because we were adjourned to the call of the chair — is a good indication that we’ll get a bill passed today,” Tarr said today on “580 Live” on WCHS Radio.
The Senate has a couple of procedural moves possible. One would be to name conferees to work out an agreement with delegates.
The other would be to pull back the bill that senators passed in late July and move ahead with some changes. Legislative observers seemed to indicate this morning that option is most likely.
West Virginia had a criminal abortion law dating back to the 1800s that had been unenforced following Roe vs. Wade — along with newer abortion regulations that had assumed the procedure was restricted but legal.
The question of whether those abortion laws conflict so much that they can’t be reconciled is headed to the state Supreme Court, which could hear oral arguments early next year.
Meanwhile, West Virginia lawmakers took up the debate after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the landmark Roe vs. Wade federal guarantee of abortion and sent policy decisions back to states.
The bill that has been under consideration by lawmakers would not allow for abortion at any time during pregnancy, except for in some limited circumstances. In recent years, West Virginia law had allowed abortion up to 20 weeks of gestation.
The bill allows exceptions for a nonmedically viable fetus, an ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus, or a medical emergency, not including psychological or mental health situations.
The bill specifies that several things are not considered abortion: a miscarriage, stillbirth, use of established cell lines or human fetal tissue research, in vitro fertilization or contraceptives.
The big questions still remain.
One is whether to impose criminal penalties on medical providers. Senators like Majority Leader Tom Takubo, who is also a doctor, have contended that isn’t necessary, would chill the medical climate in West Virginia, and could be dealt with through the licensing of medical professionals. But members of the Senate’s right wing equate abortion to murder and have said jail time should apply.
Another issue is exceptions for rape or incest — and how to define them. When lawmakers were last in session, there were questions about the burden of proof on rape victims citing rape or incest. Those questions — and whether those cases would need to be reported to police investigators or healthcare providers not providing the abortion — are likely to continue.