After Roe Fell: U.S. Abortion Laws by State

Illegal

West Virginia

West Virginia has enacted a total ban on abortion and claims its pre-Roe criminal abortion ban is enforceable although the ban is currently enjoined.

State Legal Details

Bans in Effect

  • Gestational Ban, 22-week LMP
  • Gestational Ban, Total Ban
  • Method Ban
  • Reason Ban
  • Telemedicine Ban

Bans Enjoined

  • Pre-Roe Ban

Restrictions in Effect

  • Biased Counseling Requirement
  • Mandatory Ultrasound Requirement
  • Parental Involvement, Parental Notification Requirement
  • TRAP requirements: Providers, Reporting Requirement
  • Waiting Period Requirement

Restrictions

On September 13, 2022, West Virginia began enforcing its total ban on abortion, which prohibits abortion at all stages of pregnancy, except in the case of a  “nonmedically viable fetus”, ectopic pregnancy, or medical emergency.1 Survivors and victims of rape and incest can obtain abortions up to eight weeks of gestation, but only if they report to law enforcement first.2 Survivors and victims who are minors have until 14 weeks of gestation to obtain an abortion and must report to either law enforcement or get medical treatment for the sexual assault or incest.2 On July 15, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit issued a ruling stating that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone did not preempt the state’s total ban as applied to medication abortion.4

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization5, West Virginia officials claimed the state’s 1849 pre-Roe criminal abortion ban was in effect.6 However, providers challenged the ban7 and a state court granted a preliminary injunction, preventing enforcement of the pre-Roe ban. 8

West Virginia has not repealed other laws related to abortion. West Virginia law prohibits D&X and D&E procedures,9 and abortions sought because of a disability diagnosis.10 Pregnant people must undergo a mandatory twenty-four-hour waiting period; biased counseling; an ultrasound offer11; and prohibitions on public funding.12 West Virginia continues to require that parents or legal guardian are notified about a minor’s abortion;13 alternatively, a judge can approve a minor’s petition without parental notification.14 A law enacted in 2023 would allow these bans and restrictions to take effect immediately if the state’s total ban is judicially determined to be unconstitutional.15

In 2020, the West Virginia governor exploited the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to ban abortion care, issuing an executive order16 that purported to suspend procedures deemed “elective” by the state. This order contradicted major medical groups in the United States and around the world, which agree that abortion is essential and time sensitive health care.17 The governor issued a subsequent executive order that allowed abortion care to continue.18

West Virginia law requires abortion providers to submit reports to the state19 and still restricts providers from using telemedicine for the provision of abortion care.20 Providers who violate West Virginia’s abortion bans may face civil and criminal penalties.21

State Protections

West Virginia law does not include express constitutional or statutory protections for abortion.22 To the contrary, in November 2018, West Virginia’s voters approved a ballot initiative that added the following language to the state constitution: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.”23

Post-Roe Prohibitions

In 2022, West Virginia enacted a total abortion ban, with few exceptions1, and West Virginia retains a pre-Roe ban that the Fourth Circuit found unconstitutional in 1975. 25 Providers have challenged the pre-Roe ban and asked for declaratory and injunctive relief preventing enforcement.7 On July 18, 2022, a state court granted a preliminary injunction, blocking enforcement of the pre-Roe ban. 8 West Virginia enacted a new trigger ban in 2023, establishing that if the state’s total ban was determined to be unconstitutional, the state’s twenty-week ban, D&E ban, disability reason ban, informed consent, and parental notification requirements, would all take effect.28

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, West Virginia has enacted a total ban on abortion and claims its pre-Roe criminal abortion ban is enforceable although the ban is currently enjoined.

  1. W. Va. Code u00a716-2R-3. ↩︎
  2. Id. ↩︎
  3. Id. ↩︎
  4. GenBioPro Inc. v. Raynes et al., No. 23-2194 (4th Cir. 2025). ↩︎
  5. Dobbs v. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Org., 597 U.S (June 24, 2022), revu2019d Dobbs v. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Org., 945 F.3d 265, 274 (5th Cir. 2019). ↩︎
  6. Attu2019y Gen. Patrick Morrisey, “Memorandum Concerning the Effects of Dobbs V. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Organization“ (W. Va. June 29, 2022). ↩︎
  7. Womenu2019s Health Ctr. of West Virginia, et al. v. Miller et al., 2022 WL 2526988 (W. Va. Cir. Ct. June 29, 2022) (complaint). ↩︎
  8. Womenu2019s Health Ctr. of West Virginia, et al. v. Miller et al., No. 22-C-556 (W. Va. Cir. Ct. Jul. 20, 2022), available at https://www.acluwv.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/22-c-556_opinion_and_order_filed_7.20.22.pdf. ↩︎
  9. Id. u00a7u00a7 33-42-3(3), 33u201342u20138; id. u00a7 16-2O-1; Daniel v. Underwood, 102 F. Supp. 2d 680 (S.D.W. Va. 2000). ↩︎
  10. W. VA. CODE u00a716-2Q-1. ↩︎
  11. W. VA. CODE u00a7u00a7 16-2I-1 to 16-2I-5. ↩︎
  12. W. VA. CONST. art. VI, u00a7 57; W. VA. BUREAU FOR MEDICAL SERV., Revised Public Notice Regarding West Virginia Constitutional Amendment 1 (Nov. 13, 2018) ↩︎
  13. W. VA. CODE u00a7 16-2F-3. ↩︎
  14. Id. u00a7 16-2F-4. ↩︎
  15. W. VA. CODE u00a7 16-2R-9. ↩︎
  16. Gov. Jim Justice, Executive Order 16-20 (March 31, 2020) ↩︎
  17. See Joint Statement on Abortion Access During the COVID-19 Outbreak, AM. COLL. OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY (Mar. 18, 2020); Disaster Risk Management for Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health, WORLD HEALTH ORG. (May 2011); Safe Abortion Care in the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Sexual and Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings, INTER-AGENCY WORKING GRP. (Dec. 19, 2019). ↩︎
  18. Gov. Jim Justice, Executive Order 30-20 (April 27, 2020). ↩︎
  19. Id. u00a7 16-2I-7. ↩︎
  20. Id. u00a7 30-14-12d(g)(5). ↩︎
  21. Id. u00a7u00a7 16-2R-7; id. u00a7 33-42-8. ↩︎
  22. W. VA. CONST. art. VI, u00a7 57. ↩︎
  23. Id. ↩︎
  24. W. Va. Code u00a716-2R-3. ↩︎
  25. Id. u00a7 61-2-8, invalidated by Doe v. Charleston Area Med. Ctr., Inc., 529 F.2d 638 (4th Cir. 1975). ↩︎
  26. Womenu2019s Health Ctr. of West Virginia, et al. v. Miller et al., 2022 WL 2526988 (W. Va. Cir. Ct. June 29, 2022) (complaint). ↩︎
  27. Womenu2019s Health Ctr. of West Virginia, et al. v. Miller et al., No. 22-C-556 (W. Va. Cir. Ct. Jul. 20, 2022), available at https://www.acluwv.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/22-c-556_opinion_and_order_filed_7.20.22.pdf. ↩︎
  28. W. VA. CODE u00a716-2R-9. ↩︎