W.Va. House passes bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Abortion in West Virginia would be illegal after 20 weeks of pregnancy under a bill passed by West Virginia's House of Delegates.

The House passed the measure 79-17 on Tuesday. It now moves to the Senate.

The action came the same day a House committee in South Carolina advanced a similar measure -- one that would limit abortions to 19 weeks. Both bills resemble a law in Arizona that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down last month.

Under the bill, the late-term abortions would be illegal unless women had life-threatening complications or suffered permanent physical damage.  Anyone who performed an abortion after 20 weeks could be fined up to $5,000 and spend one to five years in a state correctional facility.