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Governor of West Virginia Vetoes Abortion Restriction BIll

Earl Ray Tomblin vetoes legislation that would have enacted a 20-week abortion ban, saying the bill is unconstitutional.

By Kate White

 

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed a bill late Friday that would have banned abortions of fetuses after 20 weeks gestation. The governor called the bill unconstitutional and a "detriment" to women's health.

The bill (HB4588) would have made it a felony, punishable by not less than a year in prison, to perform an abortion after 20 weeks' gestation, except in instances in which there are physical complications that place the woman at risk of death or serious irreversible physical impairment.

"I am advised, by not only attorneys from the Legislature, but through my own legal team that this bill is unconstitutional as shown by actions of the Supreme Court of the United States," Tomblin said in a written statement.

Arizona was among several states to pass similar laws, but a federal appeals court struck down the Arizona law last year, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused in January to hear the state's appeal.

Tomblin said the West Virginia bill "is also problematic because it unduly restricts the physician-patient relationship. All patients, particularly expectant mothers, require the best, most unfettered medical judgment and advice from their physicians regarding treatment options."

"The medical community has made it clear to me the legal penalties this bill imposes will impede that advice, and those options, to the detriment of the health and safety of expectant mothers," he said.

The governor also said, "I believe there is no greater gift of love than the gift of life. I have stated this time and again throughout my career and it is reflected in my legislative voting record."

Margaret Chapman Pomponio, executive director of the reproductive-rights group WV Free, said she was heartened that the governor vetoed the bill.

"We're encouraged that the governor listened to the medical community and the women of West Virginia," Pomponio said. "Throughout the legislative session, doctors, nurses, their patients and patients' family repeated serious concerns with this bill . . . but their voices were largely ignored."

Gov. Mike Beebe of Arkansas vetoed a similar bill last year, Pomponio said. "The governor is in good company in determining that this bill is unworthy of his signature and the power and authority of his office," she said.

In 2010, the latest year for which data is available, seven women in West Virginia had abortions after 20 weeks' gestation, Pomponio said, citing a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic.

Officials with the anti-abortion group West Virginians for Life, which had pushed the bill, could not be reached for comment Friday evening. The group was holding its annual Rose Dinner in Morgantown.

Proponents of the bill contend that fetuses can feel pain by 20 weeks, a claim many scientists doubt.

The bill almost got stuck in the House of Delegates when an attempt to force it out of committee failed on a 48-48 vote. After a long, and reportedly heated, caucus of House Democrats on the issue, the Health and Human Resources Committee approved the bill on a voice vote. The House then passed the bill, 79-17, and sent it to the Senate.

Senators made a few changes, but an attempt by Senate Judiciary Chairman Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha, to raise the abortion ban's limit to 24 weeks was voted down. Palumbo noted that the 24-week limit had survived several court challenges.

"It's frustrating we're apparently willing to pass a bill that, based on all the evidence out there, would be rejected by the courts as unconstitutional," he said at the time.

The Senate passed the abortion ban on a 29-5 vote after an emotional debate on March 8, the last day of the legislative session. The House then approved the Senate's version of the bill, 83-15, after House Speaker Tim Miley, D-Harrison, did not recognize House members who wanted to address the bill before it was voted on.

(c)2014 The Charleston Gazette

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