H. B. 4495
(By Delegate Hamilton)
[Introduced February 10, 2006; 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 section, designated §33-42-9, relating to recovery rooms where
abortions are performed; setting forth certain requirements; providing for the
closure of facilities which violate the requirements; and prescribing criminal
penalties for violations.
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 §33-42-9, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 42. WOMEN'S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE ACT.
§33-42-9. Standards for abortion recovery rooms.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, every recovery room
for any patient recovering from an abortion procedure shall have a minimum of
six air changes per hour and all air supplied to the recovery room and any room
in which the procedure is performed shall be delivered at or near the ceiling
and must pass through a minimum of one filter bed with a minimum filter
efficiency of eighty percent.
Any person who violates the requirements of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one
thousand dollars. In addition, the facility in violation
of these requirements shall be closed for a period of not less than one year.
Nothing contained in this section may be construed or interpreted to endorse,
allow, permit or approve of any abortion.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require recovery
rooms where abortion procedures are performed to meet certain ventilation
requirements. The bill also prescribes a criminal fine for violations of the
section.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been
omitted.