H. B. 2369
(By Delegates Rowan and Porter)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-10-33, relating
to requiring physicians to take steps designed to save the
life of a child delivered alive during an abortion procedure;
and prescribing criminal penalties for violations of the
section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-10-33, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 10. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY.
§61-10-33. Physicians performing abortions must take measures
designed to save the life of any aborted live
fetus.
(a) It is unlawful for any physician performing an abortion that results in the delivery of a living child to intentionally
allow or cause the child to die.
(b) If the child is viable, the child shall be immediately
provided appropriate medical care and comfort care necessary to
sustain life. If the child is not viable, the child shall be
provided comfort care. The circumstances to which the provisions
of this section apply
include, but are not limited to, when a child
is born with physical or mental handicapping conditions which, in
the opinion of the parent, the physician or other persons,
diminishes the quality of the child's life, when a child is born
alive during the course of an attempted abortion and when a child
is not wanted by the parent.
(c) As used in this section the term "child" includes every
infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any
stage of deployment.
(d) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction, be imprisoned for not less than one year nor
more than ten years in a correctional facility and fined not less
than twenty-five thousand
dollars
and not more than fifty thousand
dollars.
(e) This article takes effect on the first day of July, two
thousand seven.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
require physicians to
take steps designed to save the life of a child delivered alive
during an abortion procedure. The bill also prescribes criminal
penalties for violations of this section.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.