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| West Virginia Governor Jim Justice |
“As of 11:59 p.m. tonight all elective surgeries are suspended so we can continue to do whatever we can to protect our healthcare providers and conserve medical supplies,” Gov. Justice said.
The order states "that all elective medical procedures are hereby prohibited; provided that patients will still have access to urgent, medically necessary procedures like those needed to preserve the patient's life or long-term health; and provided that this prohibition applies equally to all types of elective medical procedures performed in hospitals, offices, and clinics throughout the state. The term "elective" includes medical procedures that are not immediately medically necessary to preserve the patient's life or long-term health, except that procedures that cannot be postponed without compromising the patient's long term health, procedures that cannot be performed consistent with other law at a later date, or procedures that are religiously mandated shall not be considered "elective" under this Order."
"Medically necessary" abortions are defined in part by West Virginia law as “a condition that…so complicates the medical condition of a pregnant female that it necessitates the immediate abortion of her pregnancy …to avert her death or…will create serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions.”
Under this definition, elective abortion procedures will likely be included in the pro-life Governor's ban.
