HB2562 amends Virginia’s abortion statute, § 18.2-71, to clarify that the criminal prohibition on producing an abortion or miscarriage does not apply when a clinician is treating a nonviable pregnancy under reasonable standards of care. The bill defines a “nonviable pregnancy” as one that cannot result in a live-born infant, expressly including ectopic pregnancies and failed intrauterine pregnancies.
Under the bill, treatment may include terminating the pregnancy or attempting to terminate it by performing an abortion or inducing a miscarriage when failure to do so is likely to cause the woman’s death or would substantially and irremediably impair her physical health. The bill also contains an emergency clause, meaning it would take effect immediately upon passage.
Impact
The bill would narrow the reach of Virginia’s existing felony abortion/miscarriage statute by creating an explicit statutory exception for the medical treatment of nonviable pregnancies. It would provide clearer legal protection for physicians and other medical providers who intervene in ectopic pregnancies, failed pregnancies, or other nonviable pregnancies when medically necessary to prevent death or serious, irreversible harm to the patient.
Sentiment
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or vote sentiment in the supplied materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears framed as a medical clarification and emergency patient-safety provision rather than a broad abortion policy change.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the scope of the exception for nonviable pregnancies and the standard of care language, especially the bill’s allowance for treatment when failure to act would likely cause death or substantially and irremediably impair physical health. Supporters would likely view the bill as necessary to protect patients and clinicians in emergency situations, while opponents could argue it creates a broader abortion exception or weakens existing restrictions by expanding permissible circumstances for termination.