CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia voters might come closest have their say at the ballot box about the question of whether abortion should be legal in the post-Roe v. Wade era, could be in this year’s gubernatorial race.
Kingdom Advocate General Patrick Morrisey and mayor of Huntington Steve Williams have been leaders and occasional allies in the fight against drug abuse in West Virginia, both of whom have worked to stem the flow of pharmaceuticals into the state with the highest opioid death rate in the country.
But when it comes to reproductive rights, the two could hardly be further apart.
Morrisey, the Republican nominee, has been a staunch defender of West Virginia’s comprehensive ban on abortion, which has some exceptions. Williams, his Democratic opponent, tried but failed to secure an abortion referendum on the November ballot.
Now he’s betting that the divide on the issue is wider than Republicans think, even in a GOP-dominated state that voted for Trump in every county in 2016 and 2020.
“The way I see it, freedom is going to be on the ballot one way or another,” said Williams, who has met independent, Republican and Democratic women unhappy with lawmakers’ restrictions.
Unlike some other states that voted on abortion after the end of federal protections, West Virginia does not have a citizen-led ballot initiative. The only way to get a ballot question is with a vote in the Legislature, which has a Republican supermajority in both chambers and ignores a petition Williams filed with thousands of signatures from West Virginians.
Amendments to protect abortion rights have gained traction even in Republican-leaning states like Kansas and Kentucky, where residents voted in favor of access to the procedure. Even in a state as Republican-dominated as West Virginia, the distinction between candidates may matter to some voters.
As governor, Williams said he would continue to pressure lawmakers to put abortion on the ballot or reduce restrictions. If they continued to refuse to do either, he said he would restore access through an executive order.
Morrisey says West Virginia is a “pro-life state” and has cited a 2018 vote in which just under 52% of voters supported a constitutional amendment stating that there is no right of access to abortion in West Virginia. But that vote — during a low-turnout midterm election — came four years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutional right to abortion and returned the case to the states.
The 2018 vote also involved state funding of abortion, which some voters might oppose without completely eliminating access, advocates say.
Not long after, West Virginia passed the ban and became one of thirteen states to make abortion illegal.
Morrisey argued that voters can reject lawmakers if they don’t like what they’re doing.
“My opponent is part of the far-left Biden-Harris movement,” he said. “And that’s not what the people of West Virginia are looking for. ”
But Margaret Chapman Pomponio, executive director of the nonprofit WV FREE, which advocates for abortion rights and reproductive health, said she has “no doubt whatsoever” that West Virginians would vote for abortion rights if they had the chance. to get.
“Lawmakers won’t do it because I believe they know they would lose,” she said.
She worries that people don’t know how restrictive the law really is.
After the Dobbs decision, the legislature met more than once to discuss abortion ban proposals. During their first special session in July 2022, which was suspended after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement, “the public outcry was intense,” Chapman Pomponio said, as demonstrators gathered at the Capitol.
When the Legislature recalled in September, the law was quickly passed without any public comment period.
“I think it really creates a sense of distrust, anger and apathy because they didn’t feel heard or respected,” Chapman Pomponio said. “Why go to the polls when you know your elected officials will ignore you?”
She said West Virginia Free’s 501(c)(4) affiliate — the WV FREE Action Fund — has been reaching out to voters in an effort to mobilize them ahead of the election and has found that many people don’t fully understand how limited the are exemptions.
For example, adult victims of rape and incest can have an abortion in the state until they are eight weeks pregnant, while child victims have up to 14 weeks. Victims are required to report their assault to law enforcement 48 hours before the procedure. Something advocates point out can be a barrier, as most victims never report their abuse to law enforcement.
“We have to continually explain to people that the exemptions have been portrayed in a very disingenuous way by politicians who want the public to think there is more compassion in the ban than there actually is,” she said.
Democrats have spent almost nothing on the governor’s race, while Morrisey and Republican groups that support him have spent more than $36 million on ads for his campaign, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending on ads.