H. B. 4583
(By Delegates Calvert and Romine)
[Introduced February 23, 2004; 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 two new sections, designated
§33-42-9 and
33-42-10, 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 §33-42-9 and
§33-42-10
, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 42. WOMEN'S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE ACT.
§33-42-9. 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 one thousand dollars nor more than
five thousand dollars and, if an individual, either imprisoned in
jail no less than six months nor more than one year, or both fined
and imprisoned.
(c) Nothing contained in this section endorses, allows,
permits or approves of any abortion.
§33-42-10. 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 one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned in a 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 it's life.
The bill provides criminal
penalties for violations.
All sections in this bill are new; therefore, strike-throughs
and underscoring have been omitted.