[LG-22: notify dad]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

H. B. 2581

(By Delegate Walters)
 [Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-2K-1 and §16-2K-2, all relating to abortions generally and requiring notice of an abortion to be provided to the father of the unborn child.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-2K-1 and §16-2K-2, all to read as follows:
AARTICLE 2K. NOTIFICATION OF FATHER WHEN ABORTION IS PERFORMED.
§16-2K-1. Legislative findings and intent.
The Legislature finds that the immediate and long-range consequences of an abortion requires that physicians ensure that the father of the unborn child is notified of the proposed abortion. It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to ensure that the father of an unborn child is aware of a proposed abortion.
§16-2K-2. Notice to father; exception; penalty.
At least seventy-two hours before any abortion is performed in the State of West Virginia, the father of the unborn child to be aborted shall be notified by the physician, clinic or medical facility performing the abortion, informing him that he has been named as the father, telling him the identity of the mother of the unborn child, and the time and place the abortion will be performed.
This requirement shall be waived if:
(a) The conception of the unborn child involved a criminal offense, if the offense has been reported and charges have been filed;
(b) The father cannot be located, if the physician, clinic or medical facility produces evidence that a reasonable effort has been made to locate the father;
(c) The mother's life is endangered because of her pregnancy; and
(d) The mother of the unborn child is unable to identify the father and she states in writing, that she is unable to identify the father which statement shall become a part of the permanent record and reported to the Department of Health and Human Resources.
Nothing in this article may be construed or interpreted to endorse, allow, permit or approve of any abortion.
It is unlawful for the mother of an unborn child seeking an abortion to refuse to name the father of the child as required by this section. Any person who violates this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount equal to the cost of the abortion.
It is unlawful for a physician, clinic or medical facility to fail to notify the father of an unborn child as required by the provisions of this article. Any person who violates this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount equal to ten times the cost of the abortion.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that a woman contemplating an abortion provide the name of the father to the physician, clinic or medical facility performing the abortion and to require the physician, clinic or medical facility to notify the father of the proposed abortion.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.