Senate Bill No. 489
(By Senators Dempsey, Weeks, Love, Minear, Smith and Harrison)

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[Introduced February 9, 2004; referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-2-14 , relating to prohibiting school employees from counseling, referring, transporting or assisting any student to obtain an abortion; and providing that nothing in the section may be construed as approving of abortion.

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 section, designated §18A-2-14, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.

§18A-2-14. Employees prohibited from promoting abortion.

No person employed by, compensated by or providing any services for the state board or any county board may counsel, refer, transport or assist any student to obtain an abortion as part of or in relation to their employment. Any person who violates this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing in this section may be construed to endorse, allow, permit or approve of any abortion.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit all employees of the state board of education or any county board, while in the course of their duties, from counseling, referring, transporting or assisting any student to obtain an abortion.

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