Image
February 19, 2024

Legislation Alert: West Virginia Introduces SB 558 High-Risk Pregnancy Education Act 

 

Medical students and newly graduated physicians have shared with Students for Life Action (SFLAction) on numerous occasions that they’re being instructed to lead with abortion, not lifesaving or life-affirming alternatives, when treating a mother facing a difficult or complicated pregnancy.  

Yet, the expecting mothers of West Virginia deserve better care and more choices than just abortion.  

As such, SFLAction believes publicly funded medical education institutions should equip future medical professionals with the most up-to-date and scientifically based standards of care for preborn children and their mothers. 

Here’s what you need to know about the SFLAction sponsored High-Risk Pregnancy Education Act SB 558, which we proudly worked to introduce with State Senator Mike Azinger. 

 

What’s at Stake: 

Any competent medical professional knows the steps to save a life or treat a medical emergency, and treating mothers experiencing pregnancy complications should be no different. As such, future physicians ought to receive instruction on conducting ethical maternal-fetal separation or recommending perinatal hospice for preborn infants diagnosed with life-limiting conditions. Moreover, they should be educated on evidence-based Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) protocols, which have demonstrated efficacy in saving preborn children and ensuring maternal safety. A 2018 peer-reviewed study showed positive results, including:   

  • 64%-68% of the pregnancies were saved through APR. 
  • There was no increase in birth defects. 
  • Lower preterm delivery rate than the general population. 

 

READ: We Told You So: New Study Proves Again that the Deadly Impact of Chemical Abortion Pills can be Reversed – If a Mother Attacks Quickly  

READ: Abortion Pill Reversal 101: What You Need to Know from the Doctor Who Helped Establish This Treatment  

According to the most recent data from the abortion industry’s own sources, Chemical Abortion Pills make up more than half of intentional abortions. Additionally, the pills cause four times the complicationsthan surgical abortion. The risk of death is ten times higher,according to a National Institute of Health Study.  

 

Learn more about the public health crisis being caused by Chemical Abortion Pills at: THIS IS CHEMICAL ABORTION 

 

What The Legislation Does: 

High-Risk Pregnancy Education Act SB 558   

  • “A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia… all relating to requiring publicly funded medical schools to teach the most current evidence-based, life-saving methods including abortion pill reversal; providing definitions; setting forth consequences for noncompliance of standard education practices; and providing finding that this article is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.” 
  • If signed into the law, this legislation will: 
  • Hold publicly funded medical schools accountable for quality education. 
  • Require medical schools to teach management of high-risk pregnancy conditions with life-affirming solutions. 
  • Include Abortion Pill Reversal techniques as mandatory training for medical students in West Virginia. 

 

What We Have Said About the Issue: 

SFLAction and Students for Life of America (SFLA) have written extensively on Chemical Abortion Reversal, how this process can save lives, and why the abortion industry fights so hard to discredit it: 

SFLAction actively campaigns for restrictions on Chemical Abortion Pills in many states and at the Federal level, including:  

  • Launched and education campaign to show people dangers of Chemical Abortion Pills, called THIS IS CHEMICAL ABORTION. 
  • Launched a campaign entitled “What’s in The Water”, which aims to conduct an Environmental Assessment of the impact of Chemical Abortion Pills along with tainted blood, tissue, and human remains in America’s wastewater system.  
  • Penned an op-ed in Newsweek along with two state legislators, titled Stop Dumping Medical Waste, detailing some legislative solutions underway.  
  • Wrote another op-ed in The National Review illustrating the risks from Chemical Abortion Pills, including injury, infertility, and even death to women as well as to the preborn.   
  • Conducted polling on the issue which found: “Almost 7 in 10 Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to support a candidate who supports laws that require in-person medical care and testing before and after the sale of dangerous Chemical Abortion Pills” 
  • Spearheaded the introduction of:  
  • Submitted Citizen Petitions to the FDA calling for:    
    • Adding Red Bag Medical Waste requirements to reduce the pollution from Chemical Abortion Pills.  
    • Restoring high health and safety standards (known as REMS – Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies) to protect women’s lives.  
    • Completing studies and ensuring protection for endangered species.  
    • Requiring Protections for Water, especially recreational water, in compliance with the Clean Water Act.  

 

Stay tuned to this blog for future updates, as we track the progress of this legislation.  

 

To learn more about other legislation moving through Congress that SFLAction supports, CLICK HERE.