The House and Senate adjourned until Friday night before adjourning to an unspecified later date. The night ended with the majority of the House disagreeing with the changes the Senate had made and calling for a conference committee to resolve the differences. Then they went home. So after a week of arguments, protests, anger and policy making, nothing has been decided. Before they all left Friday night, West Virginia senators voted down a bill restricting abortion 21-10, with some members of the Republican majority voting for it, even though they said it doesn’t go far enough. They hoped the representatives would step it up. Eric Tarr “I’m going to vote yes to send that paper tiger back to the House,” said Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, who said the bill is not restrictive enough as passed. In a long Friday night, senators made significant changes from what passed the House of Representatives earlier this week. The biggest change came from the 18-13 vote to eliminate criminal penalties for medical providers from the bill. If the bill passes in its final form, the state’s abortion policies would be enforced through licensing. The Senate also reduced the time period in which abortion would be permitted in cases of rape or incest to 8 weeks. The bill that passed the House of Representatives allowed abortions within 14 weeks under these circumstances. Senate consideration of the bill took a long time Friday night after Gov. Jim Jacis unexpectedly added the issue to a special meeting call for Monday. Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, ordered the galleries cleared of spectators after several verbal outbursts. Senators took what representatives voted on earlier this week and amended a whole new bill into it. Senators then considered several amendments to this amendment. Tarr and some other Republicans suggested removing the criminal penalties weakened the bill. Republicans who took that position said they had already reluctantly accepted some rape and incest exemptions because that would increase the chances of passage overall. Robert Carnes “This is not a pro-life bill. this is a pro-abortion bill,” said Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, blaming some of his party colleagues who had pushed for a relaxation of his policies. “This was done by this party.” Karnes said representatives may come back with something more restrictive “but if they do, it won’t pass this body.” Other members of the Republican majority who expressed displeasure with the changes also said they hoped representatives would make it more restrictive. Patricia Rucker “If I decide to vote for this legislation, I hope the other side (representatives) can improve it,” said Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, who completed her dissent. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark federal abortion guarantee Roe v. Wade and sent policy decisions back to the states, West Virginia lawmakers took up the abortion bill in a special session this week. West Virginia had a criminal abortion law dating back to the 1800s that hadn’t been enforced since Roe v. Wade — along with newer abortion regulations that assumed the procedure was limited but legal. A legal battle has already begun over whether these abortion laws conflict so much that they cannot be reconciled. The Senate-passed bill does not allow abortion at any time during pregnancy, except in certain limited circumstances. In recent years, West Virginia law allowed abortion up to 20 weeks’ gestation. Charles Trump As Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Trump, R-Morgan, explained the Senate version of the Unborn Child Protection Act, he said it’s “trying to say that the new law, the new article is going to replace all these old acts”. West Virginia law since the 1800s had made abortion punishable by three to 10 years in prison, and the House bill had kept it for doctors. Tom Tacumbo The Senate bill makes abortion subject to license revocation for medical providers after an amendment by Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha. Tacumbo, a physician, worried that the threat of jail time would freeze the work of OB-GYNs in West Virginia. Now, Takubo said, “They’re going to lose their license, and that’s an extremely big consequence.” The bill allows exceptions for a non-medically viable fetus, an ectopic pregnancy, when a fertilized egg implants and develops outside the main cavity of the uterus, or a medical emergency, not including psychological or mental health conditions. There are exceptions in cases of adult rape or incest within the first eight weeks of pregnancy if the abortion patient has reported the sexual assault to a law enforcement agency or received treatment from a licensed physician. These exceptions are extended to 14 weeks for minors or incapacitated adults within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy resulting from sexual assault or incest. In these cases, the patient should report the assault to law enforcement or a government agency authorized to act on child abuse — or if the patient has received medical treatment for the assault from a licensed physician. The bill clarifies that many things are not considered abortion: abortion, stillbirth, use of established cell lines or human fetal tissue research, in vitro fertilization or contraceptives. Hannah Geffert Most Democrats opposed passage of the bill and its restrictions. “I think we need to understand that this (bill) is not abortion for poor women,” said Sen. Hannah Geffert, D-Berkeley. “Poor women in the state will have no choice because they cannot afford to go anywhere else.” Owens Brown Sen. Owens Brown, D-Ohio, suggested that the male-dominated Senate should not decide these issues. “Why should 30 men in this room make the decision for 500,000 women giving birth?”
