H. B. 2099
(By Delegate Hamilton)
[Introduced January 12, 2007; 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 ventilation 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. Ventilation 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.