WV HB5440 | 2026 | Regular Session

West Virginia House Bill 5440

Status

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: Introduced on February 11 2026 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2026-02-11 - To House Health and Human Resources
Pending: House Health & Human Resources Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [HTML]

Summary

The purpose of this bill is to establish the Medical Ethics Defense Act.

Title

Allowing healthcare workers to refuse to perform procedures related to sex reassignment or gender identity transitioning for religious or conscientious objection

History

Date	Chamber	Action
2026-02-11	House	To House Health and Human Resources
2026-02-11	House	Introduced in House
2026-02-11	House	To Health and Human Resources then Judiciary
2026-02-11	House	Filed for introduction

Same As/Similar To

HB4356 (Similar To) 2026-01-15 - To House Health and Human Resources

Subjects

Health

Code Citations

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
16	1D	1	New Code	See Bill Text
16	1D	2	New Code	See Bill Text
16	1D	3	New Code	See Bill Text
16	1D	4	New Code	See Bill Text
16	1D	5	New Code	See Bill Text
16	1D	6	New Code	See Bill Text
16	1D	7	New Code	See Bill Text
16	1D	8	New Code	See Bill Text
16	1D	9	New Code	See Bill Text

West Virginia State Sources

Type	Source
Summary	http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=5440&year=2026&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill
Text	http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb5440%20intr.htm&yr=2026&sesstype=RS&i=5440