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March 13, 2024

Legislation Alert: West Virginia Introduces to SB 735, To Restrict Chemical Abortion Pill Sales into The State

 

West Virginia boasts some of America’s best pro-life protections – and thanks to new legislation introduced by Senator Patricia Rucker, SB 735 Unborn Child Protection Act, it’ll only get stronger.  

If signed into law, SB 735 will criminalize mailing abortion pills into West Virginia, and ensure that women who were preyed upon for abortion can sue anyone who participated in the mailing of those pills. 

Here’s what you need to know about the SFLAction-inspired SB 735 Unborn Child Protection Act, which Students for Life Action (SFLAction) worked with Senator Rucker to introduce: 

 

What’s at Stake: 

Chemical Abortion Pills make up more than half of intentional abortions, according to the most recent data from the abortion industry’s own sources. The pills are also responsible for causing four times the complications as surgical abortion, with a risk of death that is ten times higher, according to a National Institute of Health Study.   

Despite this fact, Chemical Abortion Pills are often mailed in from states where abortion is still legal, circumventing a state’s strong pro-life laws. This is the case in West Virginia and numerous other states that protect preborn life. 

West Virginia’s new Unborn Child Protection Act (SB 735) is based off of similar legislation filed in Florida (HB 1519) to stop the flow of dangerous chemical abortion drugs into the state.  

The Biden Administration abused their control of the FDA during the COVID crisis, setting up No Test, Online Distribution of Chemical Abortion Pills that exposes women to injury, infertility, death, and abusers, as well as creating potential environmental harms.  

The Biden Administration’s tactic ensures that all the risks of abortion complication fall upon the young women. Meanwhile, abortion pill pushers can sell a few pills and walk away from what happens next.    

 

What The Legislation Does: 

The text of  SB 735 Unborn Child Protection Act states: “A BILL to amend and reenact §16-2R-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-2R-10, all relating to prohibiting the use or sale of abortifacients, and enacting criminal penalties and private causes of action for supplying abortifacients and creating severability.” 

In short, the legislation would:  

  • Create a clear definition of abortion mailing of pills done by a sender to an address (like a clinic) or a person in WV. This would include anyone putting the pills into the streams of commerce, with the knowledge that these can cause abortions.  
  • Allow pregnant women, many of whom regret their abortions, up to three years after an abortion, to sue for violation of this law and receive civil damages of up to $10,000 for each abortion and illegal wrongful death of a child, plus attorney fees and costs. 
  • Create a chilling effort for Chemical Abortion Pill websites and abortionists in other states so they will not want to send these drugs to West Virginia, risking a lawsuit or being subject to the criminal penalties: a $100,000 fine and ten years of jail time. 

 

Click here to send a message to West Virginia Legislators in support of this bill. 

 

What We Have Said About the Issue: 

SFLAction has also been actively campaigning for restrictions on Chemical Abortion Pills in many states and at the federal level, including:   

Some of our other initiatives include: 

  • Launched and education campaign to show people dangers of Chemical Abortion Pills, called THIS IS CHEMICAL ABORTION.   
  • 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.     
  • 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.   
  • 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 protections for endangered species; and now,   
  • Requiring Protections for Water, especially recreational water, in compliance with the Clean Water Act.   
  • 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”  

 

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.