Introduced Version
House Bill 2240 History
| 
Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2240
(By Delegate Rowan)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; 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 §61-10-33, relating
to making it unlawful for a physician performing an abortion
that results in the delivery of a living child to
intentionally allow or cause the child to die
; requiring
physicians to take certain actions depending on whether the
child is viable or not; outlining the circumstances that apply
in such instances; defining the term "child"; creating a
felony penalty; and establishing an effective date.
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 §61-10-33, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 10. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY.
§61-10-33. Physicians performing abortions must take measures designed to save the life of any aborted live
fetus.
_____(a) It is unlawful for any physician performing an abortion
that results in the delivery of a living child to intentionally
allow or cause the child to die.
_____(b) If the child is viable, the child shall be immediately
provided appropriate medical care and comfort care necessary to
sustain life. If the child is not viable, the child shall be
provided comfort care. The circumstances to which this section
apply include, but are not limited to, when a child is born with
physical or mental handicapping conditions which, in the opinion of
the parent, the physician or other persons, diminishes the quality
of the child's life, when a child is born alive during the course
of an attempted abortion and when a child is not wanted by the
parent.
_____(c) As used in this section the term "child" includes every
infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any
stage of deployment.
_____(d) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction, be imprisoned for not less than one year nor
more than ten years in a correctional facility and fined not less
than $25,000 and not more than $50,000.
_____(e) This article takes effect July 1, 2013.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to
prohibit a physician who
performs an abortion that results in the delivery of a living child
to intentionally allow or cause the child to die
. The bill requires
physicians to take certain actions depending on whether the child
is viable or not. The bill outlines the circumstances that apply in
such instances. The bill defines the term "child." The bill
creates a felony penalty.
The bill establishes an effective date
of July 1, 2013.
This section is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
