West Virginia Code 16-5-22 – Reports of abortions
(a) Each abortion, as defined in § 16-2R-2 of this code, which occurs in this state, shall be reported to the section of vital registration no later than the 10th day of the month following the month the procedure was performed by the person in charge of the hospital in which the abortion was performed. The State Registrar shall prepare a form or provide a suitable electronic process for the transmission of the reports from the institution or physician to the section of vital registration. Information to be collected shall include:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5-22
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health within the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- Institution: means any establishment, public or private, which provides inpatient or outpatient medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or treatment, or nursing, custodial or domiciliary care to two or more unrelated individuals or to which persons are committed by law. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- Physician: means a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy pursuant to the laws of this state. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- Registration: means the process by which vital records are completed, filed and incorporated into the official records of the section of vital statistics. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- Research: means a systematic investigation designed primarily to develop or contribute to general knowledge. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Vital statistics: means the data derived from certificates and reports of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, annulment and related records and reports. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
(1) The gestational age of the fetus;
(2) The state and county of residence of the patient;
(3) The age of the patient;
(4) The type of medical or surgical procedure performed;
(5) The method of payment for the procedure;
(6) Whether birth defects were known, and if so, what birth defects;
(7) The date the abortion was performed;
(8) The exception contained in § 16-2R-3 of this code under which the abortion was performed; and
(9) Related information as required by the commissioner, other applicable sections of this code, or by the legislative rule: Provided, That:
(A) No personal identifiers, including, but not limited to, name, street address, city, zip code, or social security number, will be collected; and
(B) Individual records may only be released for research purposes as approved by the state Registrar and may be released in a format designed to further protect the confidentiality of the woman as the state Registrar deems necessary.
(b) An analysis of the compiled information relating to induced terminations of pregnancy shall be included in the annual report of vital statistics.
(c) An electronic report of the compiled information under this section shall be provided to the licensing boards of the licensed medical professionals, as defined in § 16-2R-2 of this code, and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability on a quarterly basis.
(d) The provisions of this section do not apply to an termination of an ectopic pregnancy.