Senate Bill No

Senate Bill No. 525
(By Senators Weeks and Smith)
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[Introduced February 13, 2003; referred to the Committee on

Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article nineteen, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section three-a, relating to prohibiting the use of the body of an unborn baby for any medical experimentation or scientific investigation except as necessary to diagnose a disease or condition suspected to exist in the mother's or fetus's body; and prescribing criminal penalties for violation of the section.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That article nineteen, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section three-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 19. ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT.

§16-19-3a. Prohibition against using bodies of fetuses for certain purposes.

The body of an unborn fetus may not be used for any medical experimentation or scientific investigation, except as necessary to diagnose a disease or condition suspected to exist in the body of the mother or the fetus. Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned up to six months in a county or regional jail, or both fined and imprisoned.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the use of the body of an unborn baby to be used for any medical experimentation or scientific investigation, except as necessary to diagnose a disease or condition suspected to exist in the mother's or fetuses' body. The bill also prescribes criminal penalties for violation of the section.

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