Lawsuit: WVa abortion ban irrational, unconstitutional

By JOHN RABY
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A health provider has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn West Virginia’s near-total abortion ban. The lawsuit filed on behalf of the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia asks to block the four-month-old abortion ban while the case is heard in federal court. The Women’s Health Center was the state’s only abortion clinic. Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed the law in September banning abortions at all stages of pregnancy with exceptions. The law requires abortions to be performed by a physician at a hospital. The lawsuit says the ban violates the 14th Amendment’s rights to due process and equal protection.