CHARLESTON — A source close to Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw (R-62) told the Mountaineer Journal that Hanshaw has confirmed there will be “no pro-life bills this year.” This statement is seen as a significant shift in the legislative agenda for West Virginia’s Legislature.
Hanshaw’s statement comes amid ongoing discussions surrounding Senate Bill 85, which sought to enforce the state’s existing abortion law by banning prescriptions for abortifacients. The bill specifically bans the use and sale of mifepristone, a key abortion drug. The bill also included provisions to penalize companies that failed to comply with West Virginia’s laws regarding abortion. However, Hanshaw’s alleged comments suggest that SB 85 will not be moving forward during the current legislative session.
Senate Bill 85, sponsored by Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-16), has already passed the State Senate with a strong 28-5 vote. Despite its success in the Senate, the bill now faces an uncertain future.
Speaker Hanshaw was aware that Senate Bill 85 had a significant chance of being discharged onto the House floor if he did not intervene. To prevent this, he took an unusual step of double-referencing it to the Health and Human Resources Committee and the House Finance Committee, despite there being no financial cost associated with the legislation. This move was a deliberate tactic to ensure the bill would have to be discharged twice—on separate days, in accordance with House rules—before it could reach the floor. By doing so, Hanshaw effectively blocked the bill’s progress and acted directly against the broader will of the House, ensuring that his legislative agenda remained unchallenged.
In 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Hanshaw, along with former Senate President Craig Blair, played a pivotal role in reshaping West Virginia’s abortion laws. The state had an abortion ban dating back to 1863, which was effectively rendered inactive by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. But after the Court’s ruling in 2022, the pre-existing statute was triggered, making abortion illegal in the state.
Hanshaw and Blair, however, worked to amend House Bill 302, which originally sought to address technicalities in the state’s abortion laws, into a measure that rolled back many of the state’s stringent abortion prohibitions. The amendments included exceptions, providing some loopholes for infanticide.
The recent debate over Senate Bill 85, however, was expected to further intensify discussions on protecting the unborn in West Virginia.
The decision to not introduce additional pro-life bills this year marks a shift in priorities, especially as many Republican-led states continue to push for pro-life policies in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Many lawmakers and pro-life activists view Hanshaw’s decision to deprioritize pro-life legislation as a significant shift away from a key issue that has long been central to the Republican base in West Virginia. This shift in House priorities will likely fuel tensions within the legislature, as pro-life advocates push for continued efforts to eliminate infanticide.
