Unlike similar bills aimed at protecting children born after abortions, including at the federal level, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act received widespread bipartisan support in West Virginia.
The bill passed unanimously in the West Virginia Senate, which is composed of 20 Republicans and 14 Democrats. In the West Virginia House of Delegates, the bill passed by a vote of 93-5, with all five "nay" votes coming from Democrats. More than 30 Democratic delegates voted in favor of the bill, with one abstention.
Justice added that the signing of the bill was a sign that "we stand for life and we stand for the right stuff." He referred to the bill as a "no-brainer" and said that he had been a longtime supporter of this kind of legislation.
Justice was elected governor in 2016 running as a Democrat. In 2017, he switched to the Republican Party.
Under the new law, a child born alive after an attempted abortion must be given age-appropriate treatment that a child of the same gestational age would receive. The law states that the physician must use "reasonable medical judgment" when administering care, and ensure that the baby is transported and admitted to a hospital.
The bill defines "alive" as a child born with a beating heart, pulsating umbilical cord, or "definite movement of voluntary muscles."