HUNTINGTON — A federal judge has granted a request by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia for a temporary restraining order against Senate Bill 334.
"We’re encouraged by this decision from the court," ACLU-WV Legal Director Loree Stark said. "This harmful, constitutionally flawed bill should never be allowed to take effect. Harm reduction saves lives."
U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers said in the June 28 order that after reviewing the papers filed in support of the motion, the court found that the plaintiffs have submitted proof of notice to satisfy federal rules and demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on the merits; they are likely to suffer irreparable harm absent a preliminary injunction; the balance of hardships weighs in their favor; and preliminary relief is in the public interest.
A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for July 8.
ACLU-WV filed the lawsuit on behalf of Milan Puskar Health Right, Lawson Koeppel, Alina Lemire and Carrie Ware last week involving the Senate bill, which ACLU-WV believes will worsen the nation's worst HIV outbreak.
“If allowed to become law, SB 334 will cost lives and deprive West Virginians of numerous constitutional rights, including due process and equal protection among others,” Stark said. “The bill should be declared unconstitutional and stopped.”
SB 334 was signed by Gov. Jim Justice and was set to take effect July 9. It eliminates many lifesaving harm reduction programs in the state, which will likely increase HIV infection rates, as well as other blood-borne illnesses, throughout West Virginia, ACLU-WV believes.
“This bill is not good for the people of West Virginia,” Laura Jones, the executive director of Health Right said “We have a commitment to the participants we serve through our harm reduction program. This bill will prevent us from fulfilling our commitment to use CDC best practices to protect our community from outbreaks of HIV and other infectious diseases.”