Lawsuit seeking to revoke West Virginia abortion ban dropped
By JOHN RABY
Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A health provider has dropped a lawsuit seeking to overturn West Virginia’s near-total abortion ban. The Women’s Health Center of West Virginia announced the move in a court filing Monday. It was the state’s only abortion clinic before Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed a law in September banning abortions at all stages of pregnancy with exceptions. The lawsuit had been filed in February claiming the law was unconstitutional and irrational. The law requires abortions to be performed by a physician at a hospital. State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who had intervened on behalf of the state, says his office will defend the law if the lawsuit is refiled.