Republican state lawmakers don't want government funds being used to provide transportation for women having abortions in West Virginia.
"I do not believe in taxpayer-funded abortions," said Delegate Larry Faircloth, R-Berkeley.
But legislation - sponsored by Faircloth and 10 other GOP members of the House of Delegates - to carry out that abortion restriction got sidetracked Thursday, after House Democrats said the bill raises constitutional questions and could violate federal patient privacy laws.
"It's a nonsense bill," said Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne.
In a split vote, the House Health and Human Resources Committee agreed Thursday to delay discussions on the bill (HB 2468) until next week.
"I'm a sponsor of the bill, but I did see some problems I think need to be resolved, otherwise, it could create court issues later," said Faircloth, who intends to run for state treasurer in the Republican primary.
The legislation would essentially prohibit Medicaid dollars from being used to transport low-income women who schedule or have an abortion.
House Democrats cited a 1993 West Virginia Supreme Court decision that authorizes the state to use Medicaid dollars to pay for abortions for poor women.
"We have to remain neutral when we provide medical care to the poor," said Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio. "So we have constitutional issues with this bill."
The health committee has asked the Department of Health and Human Resources to determine how much the state's Medicaid program pays annually to shuttle women having abortions. But DHHR has told lawmakers it has no way to track those expenses.
DHHR contracts with a transportation service that arranges rides for Medicaid recipients, but drivers don't ask patients to disclose information about specific medical procedures.
That likely would have to change, if the House bill passes.
"We would have to ask all of our [Medicaid] members if they were calling to arrange transportation for an abortion," said Cindy Beane, acting commissioner at DHHR's Bureau for Children and Families.
Health committee members said they would support an exemption that would allow women who were victims of rape and incest to be reimbursed for abortion transportation services.
"I do not believe we should punish a woman for bad things that happen to her," Faircloth said.
Also Wednesday, the health committee advanced legislation (HB 2026) that would allow terminally ill patients to receive experimental drugs not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"These are going to be extraordinarily difficult cases where all other treatment options have been exhausted," said Delegate Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, a Huntington doctor.
That bill next moves to the House Judiciary Committee.
Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.