The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill Wednesday prohibiting abortions past a certain timeframe in pregnancies.

House Bill 2568, summarized as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, prohibits abortion past the 20-week period in a pregnancy, to prevent the fetus from experiencing pain that occurs with abortions. Two exceptions to the bill exist: medical emergencies and non-medically viable fetuses.

H.B. 2568 defines a non-medically viable fetus as one that contains sufficient lethal fetal anomalies or is incompatible with life outside the womb.

Delegate Dave Pethtel, D-Wetzel, said opposing H.B. 2568 was the third time he had supported pro-choice legislation, but felt he was making the right decision in supporting West Virginia women’s rights.

“Ladies, I’m proud to stand with you today, in speaking and voting against this bill,” Pethtel said. “Because I believe that when a woman has to make one of the most difficult decisions in her life on whether or not to have an abortion… That decision should be between her, her doctor, her family and her God. Not the government.”

WV Free, an organization focused on reproductive education and equality, hosted a social media-thon Wednesday encouraging delegates to take a stand against government intervention in women’s rights. The online campaign took place just before the bill was discussed in the House.

Hashtags such as #StandWithWVWomen and #TrustWomen were used in addition to #IamTiffany, referencing a video about one West Virginia woman’s decision to terminate her pregnancy after it was deemed life-threatening.

Lead sponsor of H.B. 2568, Kelli Sobonya, R-Cabell, mentioned the House’s support of the pain-capable bill last year, which was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

“Today we have another opportunity to join 10 other states that have made it a matter of public policy to stand up for pre-born babies who feel pain during an abortion,” Sobonya said.

Delegates referenced their faith as supporting elements for the bill, including Sobonya who ended with a scripture.

“Many say you shouldn’t mix religion with politics,” Sobonya said. “But I’ve always been of the mindset that you don’t surrender your faith at the Capitol steps just because you’re elected.”

The pain-capable gestational age is outlined in the bill as a pregnancy that has reached 22-weeks following fertilization. This requires doctors to calculate a probable gestational age of a fetus before an abortion may be performed.

If the bill passes in the West Virginia Senate, physicians who perform or induce abortions in violation of the bill will be subjected to discipline that may result in loss of license to practice.

Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, said the bill is another instance in where anti-choice forces continue to pick away at the protected legal rights designated in the U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.

“…Women of choice like me wonder if men would be so hasty to enact laws limiting their rights if they had rights to protect as women do,” Guthrie said. “I believe if men were equal partners in the birth control process… the entitlement mentality would be substantially altered.”

Guthrie said the insertion of religious beliefs in delegates’ debates might have interfered with the legislation.

“I’m not offended,” Guthrie said. “But I believe those demonstrations highlight how emotion and opinion can dangerously override rational fact-based thought and discourse.”

Guthrie said the ruling in the House could be detrimental on a broader scale.

“I believe [that] each year we chip away at the fundamental rights of women to determine their own reproductive decisions in private is not only a bad day for women in West Virginia but also American women,” Guthrie said.

H.B. 2568 has been communicated to Senate for further legislative review.

Lexi Browning can be contacted at [email protected].