Justice signs bill to ban almost all abortions

Sep. 17—Gov. Jim Justice has signed the state Legislature's abortion bill into law.

Justice announced the signing during his pandemic briefing Friday.

"I stand strongly for life," he said. "But I also said we have to have reasonable and logical exceptions and that if the Legislature sends me a bill that has reasonable and logical exceptions ... I would sign it. They did ... I signed it. It's done ... and I am proud I signed it."

The bill, which passed easily during a special session on Tuesday by both the Senate and House, bans all abortions with limited exceptions, including a medically unviable fetus, an ectopic pregnancy, a medical emergency, or rape or incest.

But with rape or incest, adults have up to eight weeks to obtain an abortion and are required to file a police report. Victims who are minors have 14 weeks, but must report it to police or a doctor.

Justice said the law goes into effect immediately, but any associated criminal penalties for an illegal abortion do not take effect until 90 days after the bill was signed.

Physicians may lose their medical license but do not face criminal penalties for performing an illegal abortion. Anyone else who provides an abortion faces felony charges and up to five years in prison. Patients who choose to have an illegal abortion do not face any criminal penalties.

Before this bill, residents could obtain an elective abortion in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.

But after the U.S. Supreme Court ended Roe v. Wade (abortions legal up to 24 weeks, the age of viability of the fetus), the onus fell on states to decide their own abortion restrictions.

The state's only abortion clinic, in Charleston, W.Va., announced on its website Wednesday morning that it would no longer perform the procedure.

Justice said the bill has always been a "volatile" one, and nobody from either side got exactly what they wanted. Some legislators did not support an exception for rape or incest.

"It does protect life," Justice said.

State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey was quick to respond to the bill's signing.

"I want to thank the governor for having the courage to add the abortion bill into the special session and address the issue of saving as many innocent babies' lives as legally possible," Morrisey said. "This law reflects the moral fiber of the majority of the citizens of West Virginia, so hats off to our state legislators for passing a bill that will protect the rights of unborn children of the state."

Most abortions are now banned in at least 16 states but legal and expected to be protected in about 20 states.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has said he will seek to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com