Senate Bill No. 135
(By Senators Barnes and Sypolt)
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[Introduced
February 11, 2009; 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 the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding
thereto two new sections, designated §33-42-10 and §33-42-11, all relating
to the care of aborted fetuses; requiring medical facilities that provide
abortions to administer anesthesia to an unborn fetus when aborted if it is
older than seven weeks; requiring all available medical means to be used to
preserve the life of a fetus if it is alive when aborted; and providing
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 two new sections, designated §33-42-10
and §33-42-11, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 42. WOMEN'S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE ACT.
§33-42-10. Requirement that certain medical facilities provide anesthesia
to unborn babies who are aborted, when older than seven weeks.
(a) When a facility provides abortions, it is
responsible for ensuring that anesthesia is administered to an unborn fetus
who is aborted if it is older than seven weeks. The kind of anesthesia used,
and the method of administering the anesthesia, shall conform to medical
standards used in fetal surgery.
(b) Any facility or person violating the
requirements of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 and, if an
individual, confined in jail no less than six months nor more than one year,
or both fined and confined.
(c) Nothing contained in this section endorses,
allows, permits or approves of any abortion.
§33-42-11. Requirement to preserve life when fetus aborted alive.
(a) In cases in which, during the course of an
abortion procedure, a fetus is aborted alive, the facility in which the
abortion is performed and all individuals directly involved in performing the
abortion shall use all available medical means to preserve, promote and
maintain the life of the fetus.
(b) Any person who violates the provisions of
this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 or imprisoned in a state
correctional facility for not less than one nor more than three years, or both
fined and imprisoned.
(c) Nothing in this section endorses, allows,
permits or approves of any abortion.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require
medical facilities that provide abortions to administer anesthesia to an
unborn fetus when aborted, if it is older than seven weeks. It also provides
that when, during the course of an abortion procedure, a fetus is aborted
alive, all available medical means must be used to preserve its life. The bill
provides criminal penalties for violations.
All sections in this bill are new; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.