Overview

• West Virginia’s Unborn Child Protection Act, enacted in 2022, outlaws nearly all abortions with narrow exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal anomalies and threats to the mother’s life.
• Although the law bars criminal charges for self-induced abortions, state statutes on human remains disposal offer no guidance on miscarriages, creating legal uncertainty.
• Raleigh County Prosecutor Tom Truman said a number of his colleagues plan to use disposal statutes to charge women who flush, bury or conceal fetal tissue after a miscarriage.
• Truman warned that prosecutors will evaluate a woman’s intent, the pregnancy’s stage and her actions following a loss when determining whether to file felony counts.
• Legal advocates point to similar prosecutions in states like Ohio and Georgia as evidence that punitive miscarriage investigations can deter medical care and disproportionately affect marginalized women.