WEST virginia legislature

2021 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 563

By Senators Rucker and Karnes

[Introduced March 5, 2021; referred
to the Committee on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-2Q-1, relating to banning medical abortions using RU-486.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

Article 2Q. Medical Abortion Prohibition

§16-2Q-1. Prohibition on Medical Abortion.

(a) For the purposes of this act: “RU-486” refers to the drug commonly referred to as “Mifepristone,” “Mifegyne”, or “Mifeprex,” first developed by the French pharmaceutical company Roussel-Uclaf in April, 1980.

(b) The manufacture, sale or transfer, possession, or transportation of RU-486 or any substantially similar generic or non-generic abortifacient drug within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the state of West Virginia is hereby prohibited.

(c) Violation of this statute is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $3,000 or confine in jail no more than six months, or both fined and confined.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to ban medical abortions using RU-486.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.