Posted on 03/06/2025 8:28:32 AM PST by Morgana
West Virginia House members have introduced a bill to remove rape and incest exceptions in the state’s pro-life law.
State law currently protects most preborn children from abortion, but House Bill 2712 would extend those protections. Under the bill, an induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — would not be allowed unless a licensed medical professional determines the “embryo or fetus is nonviable,” “the pregnancy is ectopic,” or a “medical emergency exists.”
West Virginia law defines abortion as “the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant and with intent to cause the expulsion of a fetus other than by live birth.” (emphasis added)
Treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is not legally considered an abortion because the intent of the procedure is not to kill the child but to save the mother’s life. Induced abortion is also unnecessary when a pregnant woman faces a medical emergency as the child can be delivered, even prematurely, rather than intentionally killed and then delivered. In addition, viability is an arbitrary label that is up to the doctor’s discretion. A child who receives a prenatal diagnosis should not be targeted for death and is deserving of quality health care, as is any born child who receives a diagnosis.
One of the bill’s sponsors, Delegate Elias Coop-Gonzalez said, “As a staunch advocate for the sanctity of life, I remain committed to protecting every human being from the moment of conception, including innocent preborn children who are conceived in the tragic and heartbreaking circumstances of rape and incest. While some have called for exceptions to be made in these cases, I believe it is vital to stand firm in the conviction that no child, regardless of their conception, deserves to be deprived of life.”
He continued, “It is crucial to recognize that the preborn children in these tragic situations are innocent; they are not responsible for the sins of their fathers. Removing the rape and incest exceptions in West Virginia’s abortion law is a moral decision rooted in justice, mercy, and compassion for the most vulnerable among us. Every life, no matter how they were conceived, has inherent dignity and value, and it is our duty as a society to protect and defend these children, not to condemn them to death.”
Coop-Gonzalez added that he expects pushback on the bill but is firm that he “will not back down” in protecting the right to life for children conceived in rape and incest.
He said, “The right to life is non-negotiable, and I will continue to fight for the most vulnerable among us.”
How will they replace their aging population?
I’m against abortion but when it comes to rape or incast, with I consider rape, I don’t think it’s right to force an innocent girl/woman to have to carry a rapist baby to term. That has got to be a terrible mental burden for anyone.
I think too many rape and incest cases are not really it. The ‘health of the mother’ is too broad including depression.
The evil PP loves to throw in rape and incest to expand abortion-——yet the stats show this happens very rarely.
It’s a tough call. If you believe it is a life, why punish the baby for something they had no control over?
“I don’t think it’s right to force an innocent girl/woman to have to carry a rapist baby to term.”
The rights of two innocents to consider.
It’s a states rights issue, the voters of the state can vote on it. This is the way it should be. If all state issues were actually controlled at the state level, like education, it would be a good thing. As the population becomes more able to move around, we will really see the effect of these policies as people move to good policies and away from bad policies.
WV has republican supermajorities in the legislature, will see if this bill goes anywhere.
If it should pass, you know the MSM will run it as headlines for days.
As one who is the product of rape, I stand 100% behind this legislation.
Maybe the death penalty, in cases of rape or incest, should be imposed upon the perpetrator and not one of the victims.
Under your law, I would never have been born 68 years ago, and my children and grandchildren would not exist.
Why blame an innocent child for the crime of another?
Now we should be giving rapists life in prison if not death, because then you would stop rape. You do not stop rape by murdering the child.
We’ll see how this plays out.
WV certainly has supermajorities republicans in its legislature, so will be interesting to see what exactly happens here.
If you believe a child’s life starts at conception, then it really doesn’t matter how that child is conceived.
However, its without a doubt the more popular stand politically, at least nationwide, that rape and incest exceptions have majority support.
So, This will pass or fail fully on what happens within this debate of the Republican legislators in WV. WV has become won of the most deep red states in the country since 2000, however, if the majority of voters want rape and incest exceptions left in the states anti-abortion laws, democrats in WV could start start to gain ground as a result.
Guess we will see how this goes down.
1. “I don’t think it’s right to force an innocent girl/woman to have to carry a rapist baby to term.”
2. “The rights of two innocents to consider.”
To argue that the lives of rape/incest progeny are less than others is to ascribe merit to the argument of “blood guilt”.....and we DO NOT want to let that genie loose on the world....
Agreed on both counts!
I’ve heard of cases where the mother kept and raised the child. God bless them!
All things considered while it is rare, it may not be as rare as you think. I was shocked to find out there was incest in my ancestors family and there is a separate instance of child rape where a 14 year old got pregnant. Now granted there would be an innocent child coming out of the conception, one also needs to have a care for the young victims and their choice in the matter.
The world may say that killing your children is OK under those circumstances, but that is the path to lifelong guilt and regret, not to healing.
If incest is either rape or it isn’t. If it isn’t, what is the problem?
I agree!!!
Interesting Ectopic pregnancy is mentioned. That has always been considered as a legit medical reason to remove the embryo and doing so has never been considered a abortion. Putting it in the bill is just confusing.
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