West Virginia governor signs abortion ban into law

Republican Gov. Jim Justice has signed into law a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, making West Virginia the second state since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June to overturn its constitutional protections. Procedural laws of the state.

He said the bill will take effect immediately, with the exception of criminal penalties, which will take effect within 90 days.

Mr Justice described the legislation on Twitter as “a bill to protect lives”.

“I said from the beginning that if the West Virginia legislators brought me a bill that would protect lives and include reasonable and logical exceptions, I would sign it, and that’s what I’m doing today,” he said. Say.

The ban exempts medical emergencies and rape and incest victims until 8 weeks of pregnancy for adults and 14 weeks for children.

Victims must report their assault to law enforcement 48 hours before surgery. Minors can report to the police or a doctor, who must then tell the police.

The bill requires abortions to be performed by hospital doctors — a provision aimed at shutting down abortion services at the Women’s Health Center, which has offered the procedure since 1976 and is the state’s only abortion clinic, at least two Republican lawmakers said. .

Providers who perform illegal abortions can face up to 10 years in prison.

Shortly after lawmakers passed the bill on Tuesday, Katie Quinones, executive director of West Virginia Women’s Health, said the clinic’s attorneys recommended they put an immediate moratorium on abortions.

Staff canceled dozens of appointments Tuesday night and Wednesday and provided them with resources and funding for out-of-state appointments to help pay for travel and surgery.

Indiana’s abortion ban — passed in August — went into effect on Thursday.

Indiana and West Virginia have now joined more than a dozen states in their abortion bans, though most of them were approved before the Supreme Court ruling and took effect after the court rejected the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.

On Tuesday, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced a bill that would ban abortion nationwide with rare exceptions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, fueling an ongoing debate within and outside the Republican Party, despite the fact that The proposal has little chance of becoming law. Democrat-controlled Congress.