CNN
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The West Virginia Legislature on Tuesday handed a invoice that can prohibit almost all abortions besides to avoid wasting a pregnant individual’s life or in sure instances that contain rape or incest.
Home Invoice 302, handed the state Senate in a 22-7 vote, and the Home gave it closing approval in a 77-17 vote. The invoice, which might considerably curtail entry to abortion in a state the place it’s at the moment authorized as much as 20 weeks post-fertilization, now goes to Republican Gov. Jim Justice’s desk for signature.
Based on the engrossed draft of the invoice, any doctor or different licensed medical practitioner who deliberately or recklessly performs or induces an abortion in violation of the legislation may very well be topic to self-discipline, together with dropping their medical license.
Ladies who obtain abortions won’t face any penalties, in response to the measure. It additionally permits some exceptions for victims of rape or incest so long as the incident is reported to legislation enforcement.
The measure was swiftly denounced by abortion rights advocates on Tuesday.
“After weeks of discussions behind closed doorways, the West Virginia Legislature has voted to ban abortion. It’s not possible to overstate what a darkish day that is for liberty and for the state,” The Atlantic Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia mentioned in a tweet.
Alisa Clements, director of public affairs for Deliberate Parenthood South Atlantic, mentioned in a press release that “there’s nothing extra excessive than a legislation that strips folks of the liberty to control their very own our bodies, and our state lawmakers have shamefully compelled this despicable invoice down our throats, behind closed doorways in a matter of hours.”
Since July, abortion had been authorized as much as 20 weeks in West Virginia, after a state courtroom decide indicated that she had determined to dam a state abortion ban relationship to the 1800s.
Laws in search of to limit entry to the process within the state initially met headwinds throughout a particular session in July when the Republican-led Legislature failed to return to a consensus. However the chamber on Tuesday joined Indiana lawmakers in having handed an abortion ban within the time because the US Supreme Courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade, discovering in late June that there was not a federal constitutional proper to the process.
A separate effort final week in South Carolina to advance a near-total abortion ban stalled after a handful of Republican senators joined with Democrats to dam the invoice.
This story has been up to date with further particulars Tuesday.