Abortion Bill Moves to the House

A second-trimester abortion method would be banned in many instances under a bill that has passed the West Virginia Senate. Senators voted 24-9 in favor of the ban Wednesday. Courts have already blocked similar bans that Kansas and Oklahoma enacted in 2015. The bill would ban the dilation and evacuation method unless the doctor already had caused demise of the fetus. It would not ban the method in cases of medical emergency. There would be no criminal or civil penalties, but physicians could potentially lose their medical licenses. The bill heads to the House of Delegates.