Did you know that the West Virginia legislature has considered the most anti-choice measures of any state for the last five years?

The West Virginia legislature has introduced a steadily increasing number of anti-choice measures over the last five years, providing an unfortunately stark example of the lengths to which anti-choice lawmakers will go to restrict access to abortion.  In 2004, West Virginia's legislature considered 63 anti-choice measures, and in 2005 the number rose to 79 anti-choice measures.  That number grew even more in 2006, to a whopping 92 measures – 14% of the total number of anti-choice measures considered nationwide.  Over the past two years, the number of anti-choice measures considered in West Virginia has declined.  In 2007 and 2008, 61 and 59 measures were considered, respectively.  Although the number of measures fell in the last two years, they remain significantly high.  The measures considered fell under the categories of Public Facilities/Public Employees Restrictions, Refusal to Provide Medical Services, Restrictions on Young Women's Access to Abortion, Separate Status for Fetuses and Embryos and Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers, among others. 

Instead of focusing on placing even more roadblocks in the path of women who choose to have an abortion, West Virginia lawmakers should turn their attention to enacting laws that help prevent unintended pregnancies in the first place.

NARAL Pro-Choice America & NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, Who Decides?  The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States (14th ed. 2005); NARAL Pro-Choice America & NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, Who Decides?  The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States (15th ed. 2006), NARAL Pro-Choice America & NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, Who Decides?  The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States (16th ed. 2007); NARAL Pro-Choice America & NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, Who Decides?  The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States (17th ed. 2008); NARAL Pro-Choice America & NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, Who Decides?  The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States (18th ed. 2009), available at /choice-action-center/in_your_state/who-decides/.