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Tag: West Virginia

  • West Virginia Advances Invoice To Ban Abortions After 15 Weeks

    The West Virginia Area of Delegates complex a invoice on Tuesday that may ban abortion after 15 weeks of being pregnant, and is sending it to the state Senate for approval.

    The invoice handed 81-18 within the Republican-controlled chamber, and a few lawmakers mentioned they wanted the ban used to be much more restrictive.

    “If it used to be as much as me, we might ban it outright,” Republican Delegate Adam Burkhammer mentioned all the way through a listening to.

    The invoice’s lead sponsor, Republican Delegate Ruth Rowan, repeated myths in regards to the state of a fetus at 15 weeks of being pregnant, pronouncing: “The newborn can really feel ache. The newborn can really feel that it’s being torn aside and aborted.”

    On the other hand, intensive analysis presentations {that a} fetus does no longer have the capability to really feel ache till 24 weeks into time period. That’s additionally round when a fetus is regarded as to be probably viable outdoor the womb.

    Lawmakers additionally struck down a proposed modification to the invoice that may make exceptions for sufferers who transform pregnant on account of rape or incest ― one thing Republicans in lots of states had been unwilling to imagine.

    Delegate Danielle Walker, a Democrat, delivered probably the most tough oppositions to the invoice. She mentioned she is a rape and home violence survivor, in addition to an abortion affected person.

    “I shouldn’t need to stay getting as much as give those speeches,” she mentioned. “Yearly, time and time once more, this state legislature comes to a decision to spend our time and sources placing increasingly more restrictions on abortion care ― a commonplace, commonplace clinical process that one in 4 who establish as a lady, and for many who don’t, a affected person, will get entry to of their lifetime.”

    Fifteen weeks is “no longer too lengthy after the general public are studying that they’re pregnant, and that’s assuming that they have got common sessions,” she mentioned. She added that well being care get entry to, beef up programs and different components range by means of affected person, which means that no longer all sufferers would be capable to search an abortion inside the period of time the invoice proposes.

    The invoice “tries to color abortion and the individuals who get entry to it with a wide brush and make this factor black and white, when it’s merely no longer, and it is going to by no means be,” Walker mentioned.

    An area anti-abortion team just lately centered Walker, the one Black lady within the West Virginia legislature, with a KKK-themed graphic accusing her of supporting “the killing of youngsters who seem like you.”

    She spoke to HuffPost in regards to the ordeal closing week, pronouncing none of her white colleagues who oppose abortion restrictions have gained any such message. Walker mentioned the gang had no longer apologized to her.

    “This must no longer be tolerated anyplace. I’m in no affiliation and no best friend to any white supremacist team,” she mentioned. “To ship this to the one Black lady elected in each Area and Senate within the state of West Virginia, it used to be surely a goal.”

    West Virginia’s proposed 15-week ban is very similar to a Mississippi regulation lately below evaluation by means of the U.S. Excellent Court docket. The courtroom is predicted to rule later this 12 months at the constitutionality of any bans on abortion sooner than a fetus is viable outdoor the womb.

  • Descendant Of Omicron Variant Detected In West Virginia

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia has known its first two circumstances of a descendant of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, Gov. Jim Justice mentioned Friday.

    The variant, which scientists name BA.2, used to be detected in COVID-19 sufferers in Berkeley and Ohio counties, Justice mentioned at a briefing at the virus.

    Dr. Clay Marsh, the state’s coronavirus professional, mentioned just about part of U.S. states have observed a couple of circumstances of the brand new variant, which “could be extra contagious however doesn’t seem to be as critical.”

    Justice added that BA.2 “isn’t extra alarming to us.”

    Explicit genetic characteristics in the most recent model make it relatively more difficult to stumble on. The mutant seems a lot more commonplace in Asia and Europe.

    Marsh mentioned apparently that circumstances of the unique omicron variant have peaked in West Virginia and are beginning to recede.

    However officers stay guarded as a result of there are 1,038 other people hospitalized for the virus, together with 232 in in depth care devices. Marsh mentioned the choice of deaths have no longer long gone down and “that may be a lagging a part of this surge.

    “We’re nonetheless in danger for extra other people to die within the subsequent a number of weeks,” he mentioned.

    Marsh and Justice steered citizens to get vaccinated for the virus, together with booster photographs.

  • West Virginia Gov. Enlists Puppy Canine To Ship Bette Midler A Graphic Message

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Gov. Jim Justice has a message for singer and actress Bette Midler, who referred to as West Virginians “deficient, illiterate and strung out” in a tweet after Sen. Joe Manchin refused to toughen President Joe Biden’s Construct Again Higher Act.

    The 70-year-old Republican governor ended his televised State of the State cope with Thursday evening by way of lifting up his English bulldog and flashing its rear finish to the cameras and crowd.

    “Babydog tells Bette Midler and all the ones in the market: Kiss her hiney,” Justice mentioned, grinning as other folks applauded and a few gave him a status ovation.

    Justice had spent greater than an hour touting the state’s accomplishments, together with two lately introduced financial building tasks.

    “Completely too many of us doubted us,” he mentioned. “They by no means believed in West Virginia. … They advised each unhealthy comic story on the earth about us.”

    The group within the Area of Delegates gallery incorporated lawmakers, state Best Court docket justices, company heads and individuals of the highschool woman’s basketball staff Justice coaches, who had been sitting within the gallery.

    Now not everybody used to be amused. In a tweet, West Virginia Democratic Del. Shawn Fluharty referred to as the transfer “embarrassing and underneath the administrative center.”

    “The @WVGovernor introduced his Babydog and pony display to the State of the State and pulled this stunt as some daring commentary. It used to be not anything in need of embarrassing and underneath the administrative center,” he mentioned. “Jim Justice habitually lowers the bar of our state. They don’t giggle with us, however at us.”

    Manchin, a Democrat, successfully tanked his birthday party’s signature $2 trillion home coverage initiative that might have poured billions of greenbacks into kid care, well being care and different services and products.

    “What #JoeManchin, who represents a inhabitants smaller than Brooklyn, has executed to the remainder of The us, who desires to transport ahead, now not backward, like his state, is terrible,” Midler tweeted. “He offered us out. He desires us all to be identical to his state, West Virginia. Deficient, illiterate and strung out.”

    After receiving backlash, Midler apologized “to the nice other folks of WVA” for her “outburst” in follow-up tweet later that day.

    The Related Press despatched an e-mail to Midler’s publicist Friday inquiring for remark.