Majority Leader Pat McGeehan (D-1st) is one of ten sponsors of a HB 2712, which was introduced Friday. The bill removes the exemptions for rape and incents contained in the abortion bill passed last session and signed into law by Governor Justice. Sponsors of the bill, which has been referred to the Committee on Health & Human Services, include Dels. White, Anders, Kump, Koop-Gonzales, Burkhammer, Ridenhour, Ward, Dillon and Chiorelli.
HB 2712 simply deletes all three paragraphs relating to exemptions for rape and incest. Language had been placed in that section specifying the time a woman had to report the rape and what medical and law enforcement personnel must be contacted.
McGeehan is a practicing Catholic at Sacred Heart in Chester. He teaches at Madonna High School in Weirton.
When contacted about the bill, McGeehan offered the following response.
“A female delegate, who’s passionate about the issue, approached me with her bill, and asked if I’d sign it. Although the bill will not be placed on the agenda to run, sometimes there’s an obligation to voice the principle at the heart of matters. These are very difficult moral question that should not be taken lightly—and which I’ve often struggled with thinking through. Like my ancestors though, in the end, I believe all human life—born and unborn—contains inherent value. Intrinsic value, then, cannot be contingent on external circumstances, even when such circumstances are vile and evil. In our post-modern age, this principle of inherent value seems to have become lost and, at times, unpopular. This universal moral premise needs to be defended, however—regardless of the particular issues that make it a relevant factor. Sometimes hard truths need to be voiced, even if they’re not always put into practice—for if this universal moral principle goes undefended, even in the most difficult positions in which it’s called into question, we risk forgetting that basic moral code which built the foundation for our beautiful Western society in the first place. “
