Every physician engaging in attendance upon a pregnant woman in West Virginia shall, as soon as he or she is engaged to attend a woman and has reasonable grounds for suspecting that pregnancy exists, acquaint such woman with the provisions of this article and take or cause to be taken a specimen of blood from such woman. This specimen shall be submitted to the state hygienic laboratory or other laboratory approved by the state department of health as required by the preceding section. If the woman is in a stage of gestation or labor at the time that the diagnosis of pregnancy is made, which may make it inadvisable to obtain the specimen, the specimen of blood shall be obtained within ten days following delivery.

The state hygienic laboratory of the state health department shall perform the serological tests required by law on all blood specimens taken from pregnant women by physicians for examination. These tests shall be performed without charge.

Upon request it shall be the duty of county and district health officers to draw blood specimens from pregnant women for performing thereon a serologic test for syphilis. This service shall be performed without charge.

In those areas where the services of a district or county health officer are not available, the state health department shall assume the responsibility of obtaining the required blood specimens without any charge to the pregnant women.