H. B. 2921
(By Delegates Tansill and Stevens)
[Introduced March 7, 2005; 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 article, designated §16-2J-1, relating to
granting authority to the Bureau for Public Health the
authority to inspect facilities that provide abortions at any
time of day or night without a warrant and the authority to
make photocopies of all documents and records in the facility;
and providing a penalty for noncompliance.
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 article, designated §16-2J-1, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2J. INSPECTION OF ADOPTION CLINICS.
§16-2J-1. Inspection of abortion clinics.
Any facility that performs abortion in this state shall grant
immediate access to inspectors from the Bureau for Public Health, who shall have access to all properties and areas, objects, records
and reports of said facility. Inspectors shall have authority to
make photocopies of those documents required in the course of
inspections or investigations. This access shall not be limited to
any hours of the day, or days of the week. No court order is
required for any inspection by the Bureau for Public Health.
Violation of the terms of this section shall result in an
immediate closing of the facility in question for a period of at
least three years, and a fine of not less than five thousand
dollars.
Nothing in this section shall be construed or interpreted to
condone, permit, allow or endorse any abortion.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant the Bureau for
Public Health the authority to inspect facilities where abortions
are performed at any time during the day or night, without a
warrant and providing a penalty for noncompliance.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.