Senate Bill No. 518
(By Senators Weeks, Smith, Minear, Prezioso and Deem)
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[Introduced February 13, 2003; 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 article forty-two, chapter thirty-three of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
nine, relating to requiring physicians who perform abortions
to provide information to the pregnant woman twenty-four hours
before the abortion is performed detailing the fetal
development, risks and alternatives; and providing for a
penalty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article forty-two, chapter thirty-three of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 42. WOMEN'S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE ACT.
§33-42-9. Information required to be given by a physician before
performing an abortion; penalty.
At least twenty-four hours before
a physician performs an
abortion, the physician shall provide the pregnant woman with
information that details the fetal development, the risks and the
alternatives to the abortion.
A physician
that violates this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that twenty-four
hours before an abortion is performed, the physician shall provide
information detailing the fetal development, the risks and the
alternatives to the abortion; and provides for a penalty.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.