West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed a ‘Born Alive’ bill on Monday, which would penalize doctors who refused medical care to a child born after a failed abortion. It passed the Senate unanimously, according to ABC News.
According to critics, however, the bill was largely symbolic because infanticide is already a crime in the state. Currently, abortions are only legal until 20 weeks gestation in West Virginia.
“A child born alive who would somehow be killed, that would be murder,” said Harrison County Sen. Mike Romano. “It would clearly be murder, there’s nobody doing that and if they do do it, they’re in jail.”
Another Democrat questioned the validity of the bill, saying that it aims more for political points around election season instead of helping to fix the state’s other problems.
Elizabeth Nash, state policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute agreed. “We are looking at probably more of a political issue being raised rather than something that’s substantive,” she said. Bills such as this are often introduced around election season by Republicans to “gin up the base in some way.”
Others, however, believe that the measure will protect infants should laws change, according to WHSV.
“Yeah, there might be laws that protect the life of newborns,” said Del. S Marshall Wilson, an Independent who represents Berkeley County. “That might change tomorrow.”
Justice held…
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