West Virginia's abortion laws are not deeply restrictive when compared with those in other states throughout the nation.
One study from the Guttmacher Institute ranks the Mountain State as No. 30 in most restrictive abortion laws when compared with laws in other states,
according to The Washington Post.
Women seeking abortions in West Virginia are required to undergo state-mandated counseling and wait 24 hours until the procedure is performed, putting them among 22 states nationally that require this
waiting period, according to NPR.
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Minors seeking an abortion must notify a parent before they undergo an abortion, but a physician or a judge can wave such a
requirement, Planned Parenthood noted.
West Virginia lawmakers approved ultrasound requirements for women seeking
abortions in 2010, according to the National Right to Life organization.
West Virginia earned a
B-minus grade from NARAL Pro-Choice America on its choice laws. The abortion rights group noted that 98 percent of all counties in West Virginia had no abortion clinic. It dubbed the state's governor "mixed choice," but called both houses of the state legislature "anti-choice."
Americans United for Life ranked West Virginia at No. 34 in the nation, noting that "although the West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the state constitution provides for a broader right to abortion than that interpreted in the U.S. Constitution, the state does maintain some basic protections for women considering abortion."
Lawmakers in West Virginia overrode (using a simple majority) in March 2015 the state's Democratic governor to veto a proposal to ban
abortions after 20 weeks gestation, Townhall.com reported.
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