[JURIST] West Virginia’s senate on Wednesday approved House Bill 2586 [text], otherwise known as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The legislation is based on the controversial premise that the unborn can feel pain starting around 20 weeks. The act, which had previously passed the House under another title in an 87-12 vote, passed the Senate with a 29-5 vote [materials]. Resubmitted to the House with the new name, the act passed again 82-9 [voting records], with nine voters abstaining. A similar bill passed the legislature last year on more narrow votes, and was ultimately vetoed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin [official website]. With Republicans in control of the legislature this year, the stronger affirmative vote makes it likely the body will be able to override any gubernatorial veto. Last year Tomblin vetoed the bill citing constitutional issues with a portion that criminalized violation of the act. This year’s version imposes possible sanctions on doctors who perform late-term abortions such as suspension or loss of license to practice. The Senate down-voted two proposed amendments to the bill, one by Senator Corey Palumbo to adjust the ban to 24 weeks, and one by Senator Herb Snyder [official websites] to provide exceptions for cases of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.

The issue of reproductive rights [JURIST backgrounder] has been a major area of contention for over four decades, starting with the legalization of abortion procedures in Roe v. Wade [Cornell LII backgrounder]. As of the start of February, 42 states exercised laws prohibiting some forms of abortion after a certain point in pregnancy, while 10 imposed 20-week bans [Guttermacher Institute backgrounder]. Last Friday the Kansas Senate approved a bill [JURIST report] that would prohibit a common second trimester abortive procedure by redefining it as “dismemberment abortions.” In early February the Montana Supreme Court granted summary judgment [JURIST report] to Planned Parenthood on their challenge to the state’s abortion parental consent laws. And in late January the US House of Representatives passed a bill [JURIST report] that would preclude federal funding to be awarded to any practice for the purpose of performing abortions. Concurrently, in recent years there have been many legislative attempts to challenge and redefine the legality of abortion practices, leading to circuit splits [JURIST op-ed] on the question that will likely find its way to the US Supreme Court.