H. B. 4660


(By Delegate Boggs)

[Introduced February 22, 2002; referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary.]





A BILL to amend article five-b, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section fourteen, relating to abortion; providing that hospitals or other similar institutions are not required to admit for abortion; prohibiting the requiring of staff, employees or others associated with hospitals or other similar institutions from participating in medical or surgical procedures leading to abortion; requiring hospitals to retain statements.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five-b, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section fourteen, to read as follows:
 ARTICLE 5B. HOSPITALS AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS.
§16-5B-14. Hospitals and similar institutions not required to admit for abortion; may not require physicians, employees, others to participate in abortion procedures.

No hospital, or other similar institution, required to be licensed under this article, is required to admit any patient for the purpose of performing an abortion. No hospital or other similar institution, required to be licensed under this article, may require any physician, any other person who is a member of or associated with the staff, or any employee of the institution to participate in a medical or surgical procedure that will result in an abortion, if the person has previously provided to the hospital or other institution a written statement objecting to abortion on moral or religious grounds. The written statements must be retained in a file by the hospital or similar institution.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that hospitals are not required to admit patients for abortions, and to provide that physicians and other hospital staff or employees may not be required to participate in medical or surgical procedures which would result in abortion.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.