West Virginia law barring abortions because of disability goes into effect

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A brand new West Virginia regulation going into impact Friday prevents sufferers from getting abortions as a result of they imagine their baby can be born with a incapacity.

The ban, which was signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice in March, gives exceptions within the case of a medical emergency or in circumstances the place a fetus is “nonmedically viable.”

It was one of many extra controversial payments handed in the course of the 2022 legislative session. Its supporters stated it might assist defend folks with disabilities. Justice posted about his signature of the “Unborn Baby with a Incapacity Safety and Schooling Act” on Twitter to have a good time World Down Syndrome Day.

He stated then that the invoice offers “deserved respect to our Down Syndrome neighborhood.”

Others say the proposal was simply one other software to additional restrict abortion in West Virginia, which is at present barred after 20 weeks.

West Virginia has just one clinic that gives abortion companies, the Ladies’s Well being Heart of West Virginia in Charleston.

In an announcement, the clinic’s government director, Katie Quinonez, known as the ban “yet one more instance of politicians interfering with private reproductive well being selections.”

“Individuals search abortion for a lot of causes, and every of these causes is legitimate and ought to be revered,” she stated. “Sufferers ought to be capable to be open and trustworthy with their well being care supplier.”

Quinonez stated Thursday that the clinic was ready on the West Virginia Bureau for Public Well being to offer steering on reporting and certification necessities for the regulation.