Senate Bill No. 525
(By Senators Weeks and Smith)
____________
[Introduced February 13, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
____________
A BILL to amend article nineteen, chapter sixteen of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-a, relating to prohibiting the use of the body of an
unborn baby for any medical experimentation or scientific
investigation except as necessary to diagnose a disease or
condition suspected to exist in the mother's or fetus's body;
and prescribing criminal penalties for violation of the
section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article nineteen, 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
three-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 19. ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT.
ยง16-19-3a. Prohibition against using bodies of fetuses for
certain purposes.
The body of an unborn fetus may not be used for any medical
experimentation or scientific investigation, except as necessary to
diagnose a disease or condition suspected to exist in the body of
the mother or the fetus.
Any person who violates the provisions of
this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than one thousand nor more than
five thousand dollars, or imprisoned up to six months in a county
or regional jail, or both fined and imprisoned.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
prohibit the use of the
body of an unborn baby to be used for any medical experimentation
or scientific investigation, except as necessary to diagnose a
disease or condition suspected to exist in the mother's or fetuses'
body. The bill also prescribes criminal penalties for violation
of the section.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.