West Virginia’s legislature wrapped up its work for the year over the weekend, but not before approvinga 20-week abortion ban.
An ongoing emotional debate on legislation to ban abortions of fetuses after 20 weeks gestation (HB4588) reached a crescendo in the Senate with a 29-5 passage vote on the controversial measure.Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, who had demanded the bill be read in its entirety prior to the vote, admonished his colleagues for passing what many believe is unconstitutional legislation, saying the state will never move ahead so long as legislators are beholden to special interests.“We want to focus on gays, abortion and guns, and I have to wonder when that’s going to change,” he said, adding, “We will never get past 50th if we worry more about the next election than the next generation.”
