Repeal the "Crime of Abortion"
West Virginia Legislature
Roe v. Wade has never been enough, but in West Virginia, it was the only thing protecting abortion access.
Now that SCOTUS has overturned Roe, West Virginia prosecutors could begin trying to immediately enforce an abortion ban from 1882. State Code §61-2-8 makes it as felony for any person to cause an abortion. If convicted, a doctor or person seeking an abortion could be sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison.
That section of state code remained active until 1975, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in Doe v. Charleston Area Medical Center determined that law was constitutional because of Roe. But despite being ruled unconstitutional, the law has never been removed from State Code by the West Virginia Legislature.
Without an explicit repeal of West Virginia’s pre-Roe abortion ban by state lawmakers, it is impossible for West Virginia’s only abortion provider to provide abortion care and support to West Virginians. Everyday that Women’s Health Center of West Virginia cannot provide abortion, West Virginians will be forced to travel hundreds to thousands of miles to get the healthcare they need. This will harm people of color, rural communities, young people, and those with the fewest resources the most.
Urge legislative leadership to repeal State Code §61-2-8 and bring West Virginia into the 21st Century.
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West Virginia Legislature
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Governor Justice claims that West Virginia is a "rock solid right-to-life state," but that simply is not true. According to polling by Hart Research, West Virginians believe abortion should be legal, by nearly a three-to-one margin. In fact, 86% of voters from ages 18-34 strongly believe in the importance of abortion access. The research is clear: Mountaineers support access to abortion.
Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned by the Supreme Court, West Virginia prosecutors could begin trying to immediately enforce an abortion ban from 1882. State Code §61-2-8 makes it as felony for any person to cause an abortion. If convicted, a doctor or person seeking an abortion could be sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison.
This is simply unconscionable.
West Virginia has been dealing with a mass exodus of young people from our state for years. We have already lost a Congressional seat due to population loss. A sluggish economy, a severe lack of job prospects, and now not having control over their own reproductive health: This will absolutely make matters worse. Bottom line is, West Virginia cannot afford to have extreme restrictions on reproductive health.
Without an explicit repeal of West Virginia’s pre-Roe abortion ban by state lawmakers, it is impossible for West Virginia’s only abortion provider to provide abortion care and support to West Virginians. Everyday that Women’s Health Center of West Virginia cannot provide abortion, West Virginians will be forced to travel hundreds to thousands of miles to get the healthcare they need. This will harm people of color, rural communities, young people, and those with the fewest resources the most.
We need the West Virginia Legislature to repeal State Code §61-2-8 and bring West Virginia into the 21st Century.