Women's Health Center of West Virginia v. Sheth

West Virginia abortion providers and advocates filed a lawsuit on February 1, 2023 in federal court challenging multiple provisions of HB 302, the state’s near-total abortion ban passed in 2022, as irrational and unconstitutional. Plaintiffs in the case — Women’s Health Center of West Virginia and a local abortion provider — asked the district court to issue an injunction blocking the entire ban while providers made their case in court. Under HB 302, if any portion of the law is determined to be unconstitutional, the entire law must be struck down.

HB 302 was rushed through the West Virginia Legislature in under 24 hours, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Since HB 302 took effect, West Virginians have been forced to either travel across state lines to access the essential care they need — or find themselves forced into pregnancy and giving birth against their will.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of West Virginia, Mountain State Justice, and the Cooley law firm filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of Women’s Health Center of West Virginia.

In April 2023, Plaintiffs decided to discontinue the lawsuit because the physicians who previously worked at the clinic were not able to resume providing abortion care in West Virginia at that time. Plaintiffs reserve the right to re-file if and when the circumstances are right, and the ACLU remains committed to working to ensure that everyone in West Virginia can get the essential care they need.