H. B. 2996


(By Delegates Porter, Sumner and Lane)

[Introduced March 11, 2005 ; 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 §16-2J-1, relating to requiring the Department of Health and Human Resources to maintain information for public dissemination relative to judicial bypasses to the requirement of parental notification relative to abortions performed on minors.

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 §16-2J-1, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2J. DEPARTMENT'S DUTY TO MAINTAIN AND MAKE ACCESSIBLE JUDICIAL ACTIONS.

§16-2J-1. Department to collect, maintain and make accessible statistical and other information regarding judicial actions allowing abortions to be performed on minors without parental notification.

The Department of Health and Human Resources shall maintain and make available to the public, annual statistics detailing the number of judicial bypasses granted to minors to avoid the requirements of the provisions of article two-f of chapter sixteen. The name of each judge who grants a bypass, and the number of bypasses granted by each judge, shall be included in the record, along with the age of the minors in question. Neither the name nor the address of the minor in question may be included in the report. The age of the minors, their county or residence, and the approximate gestational age of the unborn child shall be provided.
Nothing in this section may be construed or interpreted to condone, permit, allow or endorse any abortion.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Department of Health and Human Resources to maintain information for public dissemination relative to judicial bypasses to the requirement of parental notification relative to abortions performed on minors.

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