Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 12 is a proposed amendment to the WV Constitution that would be disastrous for women's reproductive right in West Virginia. It would add language to Article IV of the state constitution "To amend the West Virginia Constitution to clarify that nothing in the Constitution of West Virginia secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion". If approved, it would be on the November general election ballot.
This amendment would allow the state to stop funding abortions under Medicaid, no matter the circumstances. (HB 4012, soon to be taken up by the House Judiciary Committee, also would do this.) It may open the door for other restrictions on abortion, further limiting all women's access to comprehensive reproductive services.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed SJR 12 on a voice vote Monday with the recommendation that the Senate pass it. SJR 12 is on first reading in the full Senate on Wednesday, making it important that senators hear from constituents ASAP. (Joint resolutions require a two-thirds vote for passage; every vote matters.)
_PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TODAY AND ASK THEM TO VOTE NO ON SJR 12._ A women is the one best qualified to make decisions about her own reproductive life.
(Aside from Kathy: I cannot recall another time when the Legislature proposed adding language to the state constitution specifying whether a person's right to a specific medical procedure was or was not guaranteed. What next?)
Kathy Stoltz & Julie Archer