Crime of conspiracy to deny medical treatment to sexual offense victims
Summary
West Virginia enacted HB5484 creating a new criminal offense making it illegal to conspire to deny medical treatment to victims of sexual offenses. The law applies to any person who conspires to prevent a victim of sexual exploitation, assault, or abuse from accessing licensed medical care. The bill passed both chambers unanimously before receiving gubernatorial approval.
What changed
HB5484 creates a new category of criminal conspiracy offense in West Virginia targeting anyone who conspires to prevent a victim of sexual exploitation, assault, or abuse from accessing licensed medical care. This expands the state's conspiracy law framework into the healthcare access context.
Affected parties including healthcare providers, law enforcement agencies, and victim advocacy organizations should review their practices and train staff on the new criminal prohibitions. The law creates potential criminal liability for coordinated efforts to deny medical treatment to sexual offense victims, requiring affected organizations to ensure compliance with these new requirements.
What to do next
- Healthcare providers should review policies to ensure they do not obstruct victims' access to medical care
- Victim advocacy organizations should train staff on the new criminal prohibitions
- Legal counsel should assess organizational exposure to conspiracy liability under the new statute
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / West Virginia / HB5484 Signed by Governor HB5484 House Bill Signed by Governor 2026-03-14
Creating the crime of conspiracy to deny medical treatment to victim of sexual offense
The purpose of this bill is to create the crime of conspiracy to deny a victim of sexual exploitation, assault or abuse access to licensed medical care.
Bill Details
State West Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Session
Chamber House
Official Source www.wvlegislature.gov/BillStatus/Billshi...
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Sponsors
Lisa White (Rep - R) Elias Coop-Gonzalez (Rep - R) Henry Dillon (Rep - R) Pat McGeehan (Rep - R) Tresa Howell (Rep - R) Kathie Crouse (Rep - R) Erica Moore (Rep - R) Sarah Drennan (Rep - R) Margitta Mazzocchi (Rep - R) David Green (Rep - R) Laura Kimble (Rep - R)
Action History
2026-04-01 H Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 2026-03-14 H Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - House Journal 2026-03-14 S Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - Senate Journal 2026-03-25 H To Governor 3/25/26 2026-03-14 S To Governor 3/25/2026 - Senate Journal 2026-03-14 S House Message received 2026-03-14 H Completed legislative action 2026-03-14 H Communicated to Senate 2026-03-14 H House concurred in Senate amendment and title amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 648) 2026-03-14 H House received Senate message 2026-03-13 S Senate requests House to concur 2026-03-13 S Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 570) 2026-03-13 S Read 3rd time 2026-03-13 S On 3rd reading 2026-03-12 S Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote) 2026-03-12 S Read 2nd time 2026-03-12 S On 2nd reading 2026-03-11 S Read 1st time 2026-03-11 S Immediate consideration 2026-03-11 S Reported do pass, with amendment and title amendment 2026-03-05 S To Judiciary 2026-03-05 S To Judiciary 2026-03-05 S Introduced in Senate 2026-03-04 H Communicated to Senate 2026-03-04 H Passed House (Roll No. 323) 2026-03-04 H Read 3rd time 2026-03-04 H On 3rd reading, Special Calendar 2026-03-03 H Read 2nd time 2026-03-03 H On 2nd reading, Special Calendar 2026-03-02 H Read 1st time 2026-03-02 H On 1st reading, Special Calendar 2026-02-27 H By substitute, do pass 2026-02-26 H Markup Discussion 2026-02-13 H To House Judiciary 2026-02-13 H Introduced in House 2026-02-13 H To Judiciary 2026-02-13 H Filed for introduction
Votes
2026-03-04 Passed House (Roll No. 323) Yea: 89 Nay: 0 2026-03-13 Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 570) Yea: 34 Nay: 0 2026-03-14 House concurred in Senate amendment and title amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 648) Yea: 97 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-02-13 H Judiciary 2026-03-05 S Judiciary
Amendments
2026-03-11 hb5484 s jud amt _1 3-11 2026-03-11 hb5484 s jud am _1 3-11 2026-03-11 hb5484 s jud am _1 3-11 adopted Adopted 2026-03-11 hb5484 s jud amt _1 3-11 adopted Adopted
Bill Text Versions
0000-00-00 Introduced 0000-00-00 Comm Sub 0000-00-00 Engrossed 0000-00-00 Enrolled
Subjects
Crime Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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