WV senate advances bill to criminalize sending people abortion pills 

Senate Bill 173 would impose mandatory prison sentences of between three and 10 years on non-medical professionals who prescribe or send abortion medication to West Virginia residents through online services.

Almost four years after former Gov. Jim Justice signed a near-total abortion ban into law, SB 173 wants to add on to the list of restrictions. The bill would expand existing restrictions by targeting “abortifacients,” or drugs that induce abortion, like mifepristone and misoprostol. It would specifically target the online purchasing and distribution of abortion-inducing pills. 

The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday after more than two hours of debate.

SB 173 primarily focuses on penalizing those who send abortion medications to West Virginia residents. Doctors wouldn’t receive jail time for dispensing abortifacients if the bill becomes law. But, if a licensing board determines that a doctor has knowingly distributed abortion pills, SB 173 would require that their medical license be revoked. 

The bill also includes language clarifying that women can’t be charged with a criminal offense for having abortions.  But it also creates a new civil lawsuit option that allows a woman or certain family members to sue anyone who supplies abortion pills for up to $10,000 in damages.

Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, shared concerns during the judiciary meeting that women would take advantage of the bill. 

“I love the intent of this. I do not want abortifacients mailed into West Virginia and killing West Virginians,” Tarr said. “But I think—maybe I’m reading this wrong—but how does this not incentivize a woman who may be unscrupulous to get pregnant with a child just to abort it with abortifacients, so she can bring civil action?” 

Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, showed support for SB 173 earlier in the week during a meeting of the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee. 

“We felt it was safest for the women to be seen by a doctor, to ensure all those things mentioned —that they are in the pregnancy stage that is safe to get an abortion and have proper medical oversight in case of a complication.” 

The Impact of Abortion Restrictions in a State without enough OB/GYNs

Access to in-person OB/GYN care remains limited across much of West Virginia. According to March of Dimes, nearly half of West Virginia counties are classified as maternity care deserts, compared to a national average of 32 percent. Many women and families travel up to three hours for maternal care due to hospital closures and provider shortages. States that added new abortion restrictions after the overturn of Roe v. Wade experienced sharper decreases in OB/GYNs, according to a national study. 

During the Senate health committee meeting, questions were raised about the rise of medication abortions. Nationwide, one in four abortions are now performed at home through telehealth prescriptions, compared to one in 20 prior to the enactment of state shield laws. These laws protect healthcare providers from states where abortion is legal, who are serving patients in states where it is not. 

Telehealth abortions have expanded access and reduced costs. Several studies—including one from the California Home Abortion by Telehealth program—found that 99.8 percent were not followed by serious adverse events.

“Sometimes the pregnancy itself can be the problem,” said Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha —who is also a doctor—during that meeting. “The pregnancy can literally cost the mother their life. When we are talking about grey issues, we aren’t talking about an abortion or not. We are talking about getting the mother out of harm’s way.” 

Earlier this week, Takubo successfully amended SB 173 to remove a requirement that recently licensed medical professionals complete two hours of continuing medical education “regarding the dangers of the abortion pill and the efficacy of the abortion pill reversal.” Doctors would also have been required to repeat that training every two years in order to renew their medical licenses. The newest version of the bill would only require medical professionals to sign one affidavit, attesting they understand West Virginia’s abortion laws. 

Where access to maternal care is already scarce for all mothers in rural areas, women of color face additional disparities.  Black women have three times greater maternal mortality rates than white women, nationally. Black women, indigenous women and women of color are also less likely to receive adequate prenatal care and may be less likely to receive important health screenings or monitoring. Notably, West Virginia does not break its maternal mortality data down by race.   

Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, cast the sole dissenting vote each time SB 173 passed a committee this past week. He cited his concerns over government involvement in medical decisions.

 “I believe that the standard of care should be followed between a medical doctor and a woman. I hate that we are going over and over again, trying to get involved.” Garcia said during the health committee meeting. 

 Sen. Patrica Rucker, R-Jefferson, one of the bill’s sponsors, responded by saying SB 173 is about protecting women.  

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, research shared last summer suggests states with abortion bans saw an 8 percent increase in maternal mortality—equivalent to 59 excess deaths. The absolute impact was greater for Black women, who already faced higher maternal mortality rates. 

Excess infant deaths also increased in states with new abortion bans, translating to 478 additional deaths. Black babies suffered disproportionately, with their mortality rates increasing by 11 percent, compared to 5 percent for white babies. 

The overturn of Roe v. Wade also coincided with more pregnancy-related prosecutions, which disproportionately impact Black and low-income patients, according to a report from the Century Foundation

Early miscarriages—also known as spontaneous abortions—and early medical abortions often look very similar. So, criminalizing abortions often leads to women being investigated for committing a crime after simply having a miscarriage. Two Black women have made national news in the past several years for seeking emergency care after a miscarriage: Brittany Watts in Ohio and Amari Marsh in South Carolina.