In West Virginia, it is now illegal to get an abortion in almost all instances.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice

Jim Justice gives his annual State of the State address in West Virginia.

AP

The bill took effect immediately after Justice signed it.

The bill prohibits all abortions except in the cases of ectopic pregnancies and medical emergencies, as well as rape and incest up to 14 weeks into a pregnant woman's uterus.

If the person getting the abortion dies as a result of the procedure, providers can be convicted of murder if they are found guilty.

The law doesn't impose penalties on people who get abortions, but physicians can lose their licenses if they do.

The only abortion clinic in the state stopped performing the procedure on Wednesday in anticipation of the bill being signed into law after the state legislature passed a ban this week.

The state of West Virginia had a ban on abortion that was put in place after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion rights.

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Justice said he would sign the bill if it included reasonable and logical exceptions.

Chief Critic

The Women's Health Center of West Virginia said in a statement that the bill came as no surprise. Our state motto is "Mountaineers are always free", and it conflicts with the idea of politicians being involved in medical decisions.

Key Background

One day after Indiana enacted a near-total ban on the procedure, West Virginia also enacted a ban. Americans are in favor of abortion remaining legal despite the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the longstanding policy. There are exemptions for rape and incest in the bills passed so far, and the debate over whether those should be included has divided Republicans. There wasn't enough support among Republicans to pass a bill without rape and incest exemptions, so lawmakers strengthened the state's existing six-week ban. Even residents of states where abortion is not allowed largely oppose the procedure being banned, and some GOP candidates have backed down from strong anti-abortion rights positions recently.

West Virginia passed a strict abortion ban.

Here are the places where laws are being forced and where they've been blocked.