The West Virginia Senate on Wednesday voted 24-9 to pass a bill (SB 10) that would ban a medically proven method of abortion, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports. The bill now advances to the state House.
Under the bill, physicians who perform the procedure could lose their medical licenses. The bill would exempt physicians from punishment if they perform the procedure in the case of a medical emergency (Mattise, AP/Sacramento Bee, 2/17).
According Kelly Baden, director of state advocacy for the Center for Reproductive Rights, bans on this method are unconstitutional because they impede private medical decisions. Baden in a prior letter to West Virginia lawmakers noted, "Laws like these are an attack on women's health, personal autonomy, and the doctor-patient relationship, and they have the potential to force physicians to subject women seeking safe and legal abortion services in the second trimester to additional invasive and unnecessary procedures" (Women's Health Policy Report, 2/12).
State Sen. Ron Stollings (D), a physician, voted against the measure, saying, "With my specific knowledge, I can't vote for this bill because it interferes strongly with the doctor-patient relationship" (AP/Sacramento Bee, 2/17).


