West Virginia's only abortion clinic is dropping its lawsuit challenging the state's near-total ban on abortions.
According to The Hill, on Monday, the Women's Health Center of West Virginia stated it willingly dropped its suit after its physician "determined that he will not be able to resume providing abortion care in West Virginia" due to his "professional obligations."
But amidst the case, Aubrey Sparks, the ACLU of West Virginia's managing attorney, said the abortion center has the right to refile "if and when the circumstances are right."
"The physicians," Sparks says, "who previously worked at the clinic are not able to resume providing abortion care in West Virginia at this time, and so the plaintiffs have decided to discontinue the lawsuit."
"The ACLU remains committed," she added, "to using every tool at our disposal to ensure that everyone in West Virginia can get the essential care they need."
The West Virginia abortion provider's decision to drop the case fell shortly after the clinic announced a new location would be opening in Cumberland, Maryland, which sits a few minute's drive away from the West Virginia border.
The Maryland location is slated to open in June and is said to offer a range of services, including abortion up to 16 weeks gestation.
In the fall of last year, West Virginia's Governor, Jim Justice, signed into law a near-total ban on abortions. According to CBS News, the law bans abortions at nearly every stage of pregnancy. The exceptions to the law allow for abortions in cases of rape or incest: up to 8 weeks for adults and 14 weeks for children. Nonetheless, victims of such assaults must report the crime to the police within 48 hours.
West Virginia Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a proponent of the ban, said his office "stands ready to defend this clearly constitutional law to the fullest should this lawsuit be refiled, or against any other legal challenge."
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