The West Virginia state House has passed a bill that would save babies from abortion by banning all abortions after 15 weeks. The bill is modeled on legislation from Mississippi that received a hearing before the Supreme Court in December and that pro-life advocates expect will be upheld.
Last month, the Committee on Health and Human Resources voted down a number of attempts by pro-abortion members of the panel to water down the legislation.
Earlier this month, the House Judiciary Committee recommended House bill 4004 for passage in the full House of Representatives and the bill now heads to the full House of Delegates, with passage possible at the beginning of next week.
And today the full state House gave the measure its approval on an 81-18 vote. It will now head to the West Virginia State Senate.
Del. Chris Pritt, R-Kanawha, said he believes the U.S. Constitution provides a right to life and that HB 4004 is a good bill.
“I would think we could even go further, but we’re talking about this bill right now,” Pritt said. “This bill will undoubtedly save lives … I think we have a compelling interest in saving life.”
REACH PRO-LIFE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE! Advertise with LifeNews to reach hundreds of thousands of pro-life readers every week. Contact us today.
The Family Policy Council of West Virginia strongly supports the bill, which told LifeNews: “H.B. 4004 will limit abortion to the current contested legal limit of 15-weeks, replicating Mississippi’s law challenging the Roe v. Wade precedent. H.B. 4005 will ban the collection, sale, and transport of fetal organs and body parts in West Virginia. Both bills passed the judiciary committee, and are now headed to The House of Delegates for presentation. The unborn will be protected in West Virginia.”
In the previous vote, one legislator talked about how seeing an ultrasound of an unborn baby reminder her of the value of human life.
“I actually have a sister-in-law who is pregnant with my first niece. Her name is Macy, and just last week I was able to see a video of an ultrasound that she just recently had at 16 weeks and two days, and it was so incredibly beautiful because we got to see and hear her heart beating almost rhythmically, and so for me when I looked at that ultra sound picture, I felt this deep love and passion for her, but I also felt a little bit of pain because in West Virginia, she could be killed at this moment in pregnancy, and I’m not okay with that,” said Republican Del. Kayla Kessinger Fayette.
West Virginia voters approved an addition to the state Constitution in 2018, stating that “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.”
The state has an abortion ban that was on the books in 1973 when Roe was handed down and would likely take effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe this summer.
