West Virginia Code 16-2F-1 – Legislative findings and intent
(a) The Legislature finds that immature minors often lack the ability to make fully informed choices that take into account both immediate and long-range consequences of their actions; that the medical, emotional and psychological consequences of abortion are serious and of indeterminate duration, particularly when the patient is immature; that in its current abortion policy as expressed in Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622 (1979), H. L. v. Matheson, 450 U.S. 398 (1981), and Hodgson v. Minnesota, 497 U.S. 417, (1990), the United States Supreme Court held that notification of a parent with a judicial waiver procedure is Constitutional; that parents ordinarily possess information essential to a physician’s exercise of his or her best medical judgment concerning their child; and that parents who are aware that their minor daughter has had an abortion may better ensure that the minor receives adequate medical attention after her abortion.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-2F-1
- Abortion: means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant and with intent to cause the expulsion of a fetus other than by live birth. See West Virginia Code 16-2F-2
- Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) The Legislature further finds that parental consultation regarding abortion is usually desirable and in the best interests of the minor.
(c) The Legislature further finds there exists important and compelling state interests:
(1) In protecting minors against their own immaturity,
(2) In fostering the family structure and preserving it as a viable social unit, and
(3) In protecting the rights of parents to rear their own children in their own household.
(d) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to further these important and compelling state interests by enacting this parental notice provision.