Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, the Democratic candidate for governor, today delivered a petition with thousands of signatures to the state Capitol to push for a referendum on guaranteeing access to abortion and reproductive healthcare.
“As of this morning we have 2,500 signatures,” Williams said from the Capitol.
Williams has been pushing for the referendum to be on the agenda for the special legislative session that has been going on this week.
That seems highly unlikely since the current governor, Republican Jim Justice, has not put anything like that on the legislative call. But Williams said he intends to keep pushing the point.
“We’re making a statement,” Williams said. “Fact of the matter is, we know this issue of some sort was on the ballot a few years ago, but there is a significant population in this state — 52 percent of all voters in West Virginia are women — and everywhere I go women are saying ‘We want our rights restored.’
“One way or another, freedom is going to be on the ballot — whether it’s through a constitutional amendment or where every person is up for a seat on the legislature or for governor is going to have to be able to speak to female voters to say ‘We support restoring your constitutional rights or reproductive rights, or we’re going to hold fast that you’re not worthy of receiving due consideration.'”
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Republican nominee for governor, wrote a response on social media.
“I’m unwaveringly pro baby and pro family, and West Virginians share that same sentiment for life with me. As Governor, I’ll empower women and families with resources and support, so that all families can start and raise a family in West Virginia knowing their state is behind them,” Morrisey said.
In 2018, West Virginia voters narrowly approved — 52% to 48% — an amendment stating “nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.” The language about funding had to do with whether the state would be required to use Medicaid dollars to pay for abortions for women who could not afford to pay for the procedure.
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling in 2022 left abortion policies to the states, six of them — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont, and Ohio – have voted on abortion related constitutional amendments. The side favoring access to abortion prevailed in every state.
States with statewide ballot initiatives on abortion this year include Florida, where a state constitutional amendment to legalize abortion until viability will be on the ballot. Missouri and South Dakota now also have citizen-sponsored measures on the ballot this year.
West Virginia lawmakers in 2022 passed a bill that would not allow for abortion at any time during pregnancy, except for in some limited circumstances.
During the most recent regular legislative session, Delegate Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, introduced House Joint Resolution 27 calling for an amendment to the state constitution guaranteeing women the right to control their reproductive decisions, including abortion. The resolution was assigned to the House Health Committee and went no farther.
Williams said he will just keep trying.
“The one thing I’ve learned is you just don’t stop — constant, constant moving toward what you’re trying to do,” he said.
“You can just rest assured we’re just going to keep this in front of the voters. And the voters will either speak one way or another; they’ll either speak if there is a constitutional amendment or they’ll speak by whom they choose to be governor and members of the state legislature.”
Williams presented the petition to House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, who took it to the House clerk.
“We believe that reproductive healthcare freedom is what is wanted. We just believe it is time now to have the people of West Virginia to decide if women should have reproductive healthcare freedom,” Hornbuckle said.
“We tired last session. We’ll try this special session. We’ll try all sessions in the future. This is something that’s important to us.”