CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey recently joined a 19-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take action to protect state laws that prohibit discriminatory abortions based upon the biological sex, race or disability of the unborn child.
The friend-of-the-court brief argues a lower court ruling that banned such laws exhibits unprecedented and unlawful hostility to each state’s authority to honor human life and dignity.
Specifically, the coalition argues each state has a right to prohibit the discriminatory elimination of unborn persons and ensure that human remains are disposed of in a respectful manner.
“The Constitution gives every state the inherent authority to protect life,” Morrisey said. “That authority extends to enacting laws that prohibit abortion from being used as a tool to eliminate any particular segment of the population.
"Every American, regardless of their biological sex, race or disability, has a God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
The coalition’s brief asks the Supreme Court to grant review of, and ultimately overturn, a ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that permanently blocked enforcement of such a law in Indiana.
Morrisey's office says the lower court ruling, if left intact, could threaten the ability of West Virginia and other states to pass and/or enforce similar legislation.
West Virginia joined the Wisconsin-led brief with Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
