West Virginia Voters Could Clarify That Their Constitution Doesn’t Include Abortion Rights

West Virginia voters will weigh in this November on an amendment that would prevent their state’s constitution from being interpreted as conferring the right to an abortion or funding for an abortion.

What the Referendum Does

Amendment 1 would amend the West Virginia Constitution to clarify that “nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.”

In Favor

West Virginia’s Constitution shouldn’t be interpreted as conferring the right to an abortion or funding for an abortion. This amendment would ensure that’s the case without having any effect on abortion rights in the state.

Opposed

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, this change to West Virginia’s Constitution could lead to the enactment of policies criminalizing certain abortions or prohibiting women on Medicaid from accessing reproductive care.

In-Depth

While this amendment wouldn’t have any immediate impact on access to abortions in West Virginia, if the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade is overturned it’d prevent courts from ruling that the state constitution protects abortion rights.

West Virginia has a law criminalizing abortion (except to protect the pregnant woman's life) and a law restricting access to Medicaid funding for abortion on the books that haven't been enforced in the wake of Supreme Court decisions. If those rulings were overturned, West Virginia could resume enforcing the laws.

This proposed constitutional amendment was referred to West Virginia voters by the state legislature. The WV Senate approved the proposed amendment on a 25-9 vote with the support of 22 Republicans and three Democrats. It then passed the WV House on a 73-25-2 vote with the support of 63 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / Josi Carillet)