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CHARLESTON -- An amendment to West Virginia's constitution to prohibit physician-assisted suicide -- already illegal in the state -- managed to squeak through after Tuesday's election with just enough votes, though the vote was a statistical tie.
According to unofficial election results posted by the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office, Amendment 1 passed, with 335,822 votes (50.5%) for and 329,742 against (49.5%) - a difference of 6,080 votes.
The West Virginia Legislature adopted House Joint Resolution 28 during the 2024 regular session earlier this year. The joint resolution placed on the November general election ballot a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban medically-assisted suicide and/or euthanasia.
Amendment 1 would add language to the state Constitution prohibiting individuals, doctors, or other health care providers in West Virginia from participating in "assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person."
The proposed amendment would not apply to the prescribing of medication to provide pain relief for dying individuals, withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments, or if the state reinstates the death penalty.
State Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, was a vocal supporter of Amendment 1, offering an amendment to HJ3 28 during the regular session of the Legislature that set up the final language of the constitutional amendment. Tarr said Amendment 1 marks the second time voters have amended the state Constitution to preserve the right to life.
Voters added language to the state Constitution in 2018 stating that ""Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion."
"I'm pleased to see that Amendment 1, which was crafted and passed by a supermajority of the Legislature, was adopted by the people of West Virginia," Tarr said. "Passing any constitutional amendment is a monumental victory. I believe that West Virginia adopted the amendment because of Mountaineers' commitment to choosing life, as well as the West Virginia voters' growing confidence in the largely Republican Legislature to get such an important issue right. Today is a good day for West Virginia and our country."
According to the unofficial results, Amendment 1 was successful in 42 out of 55 counties. The amendment was unsuccessful in Ohio, Monongalia, Marion, Jackson, Roane, Braxton, Kanawha, Cabell, Greenbrier, Randolph, Tucker, Hardy, and Jefferson counties.
In West Virginia, medically assisted suicide is already illegal. State Code 16-30-15, also called the West Virginia Health Care Decisions Act, already allows for withholding or withdrawal of life-prolonging intervention in accordance with the decision of a medical power of attorney representative or surrogate decision maker.
The act specifically states that "nothing in this article shall be construed to legalize, condone, authorize or approve mercy killing or assisted suicide," with State Code allowing for the criminal prosecution for aiding in assisted suicide.
Amendment 1 was supported by several groups, including the West Virginia Alliance for Ethical Health Care and West Virginians for Life, which released a statement Wednesday afternoon praising the support by voters for Amendment 1.
"Following the strong example of our legislators who voted by overwhelming majorities, the voters of West Virginia have now also shown their belief that all lives in our beautiful state -- regardless of age or ability -- will be respected and protected from the dangers of medically assisted suicide," according to the statement.
The constitutional amendment received criticisms from groups, such as Death with Dignity, for whether proper legal notice of the proposed constitutional amendment was used and how it was worded on the ballot. Tarr acknowledged that Amendment 1 may not have received as much attention from voters going into the ballot box prior to Tuesday's election compared to the races for U.S. Senate and Governor, possibly contributing to how close the vote on Amendment 1 was.
"Constitutional amendments, because they must be crafted in legal lingo, can be difficult to communicate across the entire spectrum of political attentiveness of West Virginia voters," Tarr said. "When the Legislature passes a resolution by two-thirds vote to amend the Constitution, we have had the benefit of debate, committee witnesses, and experts on given issues. It's a very different experience for the average voter. Many times they've not even read the amendment before voting, let alone hear a comprehensive discussion on the issue."
Of the 759,815 ballots cast in the general election, the amendment only received 665,564 total votes, with 94,251 voters choosing not to vote for or against the amendment on their ballots.