West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey

While answering questions before the legislature last week, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey reiterated that West Virginia currently allows abortion for any reason up to the moment of birth. Controversy erupted last summer when Morrisey, in response to a lawsuit filed against the largest abortion clinic in the state, announced that his office would conduct an investigation into current abortion laws in the state.

The results of that investigation is that Morrisey has concluded that West Virginia does indeed allow abortions for any reason up to the moment of birth. In other words, West Virginia currently does not regulate the abortion industry operating within its borders. In fact, tattoo studios and hair salons are subject to more regulation than abortion clinics.

Morrisey told the legislature:

“Currently West Virginia permits abortions to be performed up until birth, not many people realize that, when you have individuals that may perform abortions up to birth — that raises safety concerns. I’m focusing on the law, the reality is there’s no arguing it is permitted up to birth.”

The obvious question is why? Most of our elected lawmakers claim to be pro-life. Our governor claims to be pro-life. If so many lawmakers are claiming to be pro-life why is the only one seeking to enacted common sense health and safety regulations the Attorney General?

How is it that a lawmaker can claim to be pro-life, be told that abortion is allowed for any reason up to the moment of birth, and then do nothing? Being pro-life is a conviction that abortion kills an innocent human being and yet our lawmakers seem to be acting as if it’s a political statement serving to get them elected. If that is the case we need new lawmakers. We need lawmakers that are pro-life not for political gain but because they genuinely care about life and want to defend it.

If our current lawmakers genuinely do care about life they are now responsible for this information and for doing something to protect women and children in West Virginia. If they fail to take action they will tell the people that elected them that they don’t actually care about defending life and only claim to be pro-life for political gain.

The fact that most West Virginians are pro-life and would whole-heartedly support common sense health and safety regulations for the abortion industry should tell lawmakers something. The citizens of this state don’t want to allow innocent children to be killed (up to 7 each day) while we turn a blind eye. Furthermore, we don’t want to continue paying for the abortion industry to operate within our state.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we, the citizens, are paying for the abortion industry through taxes to kill those children. That makes us all complicit.

Let’s tell our lawmakers to either put actions behind their claims to be pro-life or get out o the way so others can make a difference. let’s tell them we’re tired of hearing their empty rhetoric that accomplishes nothing. Let’s tell them we expect action on this issue or we will elect someone else that does more than make empty promises.