Prohibiting use or sale of abortifacients
SB85 would amend West Virginia’s Unborn Child Protection Act to create a new section specifically targeting abortifacients, defined as drugs or chemicals prescribed or dispensed with the intent of causing an abortion. The bill prohibits sending abortifacients into West Virginia by mail or courier, placing them into the stream of commerce for use in the state, prescribing them to a person in West Virginia regardless of where the prescriber is located, and disseminating them in the state without a lawfully valid prescription. It also expands and refines statutory definitions related to abortion, pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy, medical emergency, and related terms.
The bill establishes criminal, civil, and professional consequences for violations. A non-medical professional who knowingly and willfully violates the new section commits a felony punishable by three to 10 years in prison. The Attorney General may bring civil actions and seek injunctive relief and up to $150,000 per violation, and a pregnant woman who unlawfully receives an abortifacient may sue for injunctive relief and $10,000 per abortion. Licensed medical professionals who violate the section are subject to disciplinary action and mandatory license revocation if the licensing board finds a knowing and willful violation. The bill includes exceptions for lawful prescriptions, pharmacy dispensing under a valid prescription, and accidental injury or death during legitimate medical treatment, and it states that women may not be criminally charged for the death of their own unborn child under this section.
SB85 would significantly tighten West Virginia law governing medication abortion and the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs by creating explicit prohibitions on mailing, prescribing, and dispensing abortifacients into the state outside narrow exceptions. It would add new criminal penalties, authorize state civil enforcement by the Attorney General, create a private right of action for pregnant women who unlawfully receive an abortifacient, and require professional discipline for licensed medical providers found to have knowingly violated the law. The bill would also further entrench statutory definitions that shape how abortion-related terms are interpreted under state law.
The available voting history suggests the bill had substantial support in the Senate, passing 26-5 on April 1, 2025. No committee transcript excerpts were provided, so there is no recorded discussion to indicate detailed arguments for or against the measure. Based on the vote and the bill’s sponsor list, the overall sentiment appears strongly favorable among supporters of abortion restrictions and opposed by a smaller bloc of senators.
The main points of contention are likely the bill’s broad restrictions on abortifacients, especially the ban on prescribing them to West Virginia residents even when the prescriber is outside the state, and the severe enforcement scheme. Critics would likely focus on the felony penalties, mandatory license revocation, Attorney General civil penalties, and the private right of action, while supporters would emphasize the bill’s stated exceptions for valid prescriptions and medical emergencies. The bill also contains expansive definitional language that could affect how abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy, and medical emergency are treated under state law.