West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin [official website] on Wednesday vetoed [veto message, PDF] a bill [SB 10 materials] banning second-trimester abortions. Tomblin expressed concern that the bill creates constitutional issues and conflicts with women’s health rights. Supporters argue the procedures required during the second-trimester are particularly violent. A majority vote of both chambers would override the governor’s veto. Last year, Tomblin’s veto banning abortions 20 weeks after conception was later overridden [JURIST reports] by lawmakers.

Abortion procedures and reproductive rights issues have been controversial topics throughout the US. Last month the Indiana Senate released a bill [JURIST report] from committee that would ban abortions based on genetic disabilities and would also require aborted or miscarried fetuses to be cremated or interred. Also last month the Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed [JURIST report] a lower court decision upholding a law that restricts use of medication abortion drugs. In November the US Supreme Court [official website] granted certiorari [JURIST report] to decide whether a Texas law, which requires that clinics have similar facilities to surgical center, posed an undue burden on the availability of abortion on the state.