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Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
WV woman travels six hours for life-saving abortion; calls for abortion access to be placed on voter ballot
SAINT ALBANS, WV (WVNS) — A woman has called for West Virginia voters to decide the issue of abortion access in the state after she was forced to check herself out of a Charleston hospital in 2021 and travel six hours for a life-saving abortion. 'The only decision in this sensitive situation should be in the hands of voters. They're the ones going through it,' said Kristyn Fruit, 33, on Thursday, June 12, 2025. 'They're the ones that matter.' In the case of a voter ballot, West Virginia voters and not elected officials would decide situations in which abortion is legal in West Virginia. In 2023, West Virginia lawmakers passed a near-total abortion ban in the state. Fruit said that she grew up attending pro-life rallies with her mother, protesting against legal abortion. In 2021, she said she was a mother of three following three uneventful pregnancies when she learned she was pregnant for the fourth time. 'It was a boy, and we named him Kase, and at my 20-week ultrasound, I found out he had a rare abnormality,' she said. 'He couldn't make amniotic fluid. All of his urine was backed up into his kidneys and his bladder.' Bright Life Mental Health & Recovery hosts ribbon cutting with BRCCC Fruit said doctors diagnosed Kase with fetal lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO), which left him unable to produce the amniotic fluid necessary for healthy fetal development. Fruit traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, she said, and underwent two highly invasive surgeries to try to save her son's life. She said she had planned a third surgery when a midwife told her Kase would not be able to survive, and that Fruit was not a viable candidate for the third surgery. The midwife recommended she terminate the pregnancy, Fruit said, adding that she agreed it was the best choice for Kase. Mother questions policies at Southern Regional Jail after son reportedly overdoses in jail 'I just did not want him to suffer,' Fruit explained. 'I did not want him to be born to suffocate and die.' In 2021, prior to West Virginia lawmakers' ban on abortion, elective abortion was legal in West Virginia up to 20 weeks. Fruit made an appointment for an abortion in Washington D.C. as quickly as possible, she said, and concentrated on being present for her three children, despite being in physical and emotional pain. 'Four days before that appointment, I started having complications with my health,' said Fruit. 'I was putting up Halloween decorations, and I started having gushes of blood.' Fruit said she later learned that her placenta had started to slowly detach from her uterine wall, as a result of the second surgery she'd undergone to save her pregnancy. She said she ended up at a West Virginia hospital, two years before lawmakers had passed the near-total abortion ban. WV Board of Education to keep vaccine requirements against governor's wishes She said the high-risk obstetrician at the hospital was the only one in the region, and claims he was well-known for being vocally anti-abortion. She said she was bleeding profusely and was in extreme pain, but that the OB-GYN told her he did not want to perform an abortion, despite the diagnosis by Fruit's medical care team regarding Kase's chance of survival. Instead, Fruit stated, the doctor informed her that he wanted her to continue the pregnancy until she'd lost more blood and that he would perform a C-section, a surgery Fruit said she'd never experienced. 'He wanted me to wait to the point of my bleeding getting to the rate of 'a fountain of blood,'' Fruit quoted. 'Those were his exact words. I wasn't close enough to death for the 'life of the mother' exception to apply to me.' Fruit said the medical advice was 'scary' and contradicted her own providers' directions. Against the advice of staff nurses, she said, she was forced to check herself out of the hospital and to travel six hours to Washington D.C. Medical staff in Washington D.C. performed a life-saving pregnancy termination, she said, and the doctors also confirmed her own providers' diagnosis that Kase also would not have survived a delivery. President of West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Association explains how state law protects abortion and miscarriage patients from prosecution Medical staff in D.C. provided Fruit with ink prints of Kase's hands and feet. In Fruit's medical records, the 27-week abortion she received in Washington D.C. was recorded as 'elective,' meaning it was performed by the patient's choice, even though she was experiencing a slow placental abruption, she said. Fruit said she has since welcomed a fourth child, although she had been reluctant to get pregnant in West Virginia because of lawmakers' 2023 abortion ban. She called on Thursday for a reproductive rights amendment to appear on the voter ballot in the state, giving West Virginians the right to decide on legal abortion. Pointing to her experience at the West Virginia hospital, Fruit said the narrow exceptions in the state's abortion ban to protect the pregnant patient's health and life could actually delay or deny care for women, particularly when politics- such as a ban- play a role in health care decisions. 'Nothing was good enough for him until I got to the point of hemorrhaging,' she said of the obstetrician who had denied her abortion in 2021. Fruit has also shared her story on podcasts and in national publications. Fruit made the call for the voter referendum shortly after the Trump Administration rescinded federal guidance that hospitals provide emergency abortions in state hospitals. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Future Forward Summit/Expo to focus on crucial pillars of success for region
Local leaders are poised for a major networking event later this month which will explore avenues for future growth in southern West Virginia. According to a press release, the Future Forward Summit and Expo in April will focus on four crucial pillars of success for southern West Virginia – housing, downtown development, small business growth and the economic outlook. The New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA) and Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce (BRCCC) have recruited expert speakers to lead discussions and to seek recommendations for improvements in each of the four areas for the summit, which is planned for April 22-23 at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center. 'The Future Forward planning committee has done an excellent job in securing in-state talent who can be a convener for innovation, collaboration and actionable progress in southern West Virginia,' Jina Belcher, executive director of NRGRDA, said in the press release. Michelle Rotellini, president/CEO of BRCCC, said the annual Future Forward Summit gives business leaders, entrepreneurs and community representatives the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions, forge strategic partnerships and explore opportunities. 'The focus is a little bit different' than last year's summit, Rotellini said. 'We're very excited about it.' The aim is to 'provide a platform for our community stakeholders to engage in meaningful conservations' geared toward laying the groundwork for workable solutions to guide long-term success in the region, said Rotellini. The BRCCC is partnering with the NRGRDA and West Virginia Hive (WV Hive) to bring together the various industry, business and civic leaders and policy-makers who will be featured on the agenda for the two-day summit. Sessions and presentation leaders scheduled to attend include: • New and existing housing modernization needs — Patrick Bowen, president, Bowen National Research; • Southern West Virginia economic outlook — Dr. John Deskins, director, Bureau of Business and Economic Research at West Virginia University; • Downtown development and revitalization — Moderated by Jina Belcher, NRGRDA; and • Small business development — Judy Moore of NRGRDA and the WV Hive. In addition, West Virginia State Sen. Brian Helton (R-Fayette) will guide a dialogue with state legislators and industry leaders. That session is expected to cover recent legislative developments and provide a platform for attendees to ask questions and gain insights into policy changes, organizers say. There will also be breakout groups featuring areas of concentration including downtown planning and zoning, tourism and workforce resources. In addition, a diverse range of exhibitors is expected to showcase products, services and initiatives from the region. "We were asked this year to partner with the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce on Future Forward," said Moore, executive director of the West Virginia Hive and deputy director of the NRGRDA. "We have very diligently worked to pull together what we think is going to be a really good conference opportunity. "It definitely is an economic development-based conference, and what we're attempting to showcase in this conference is some of the topics that are most prevalent right now with economic development. That's everything from housing to child care to small business support." "The conference is appealing to community leaders, legislators, decision-makers," she added. "That's who we want to have in the room." Moore said the summit will also provide an opportunity for WV Hive to spread the message on the services it offers. "Sometimes, quite honestly, even though the West Virginia Hive has been in existence since late 2016, a lot of people still don't know about us or the services that we provide," said Moore. "So, we're going to take this opportunity to be in front of these key community leaders to let them know what we can actually do to support the small businesses that they are also supporting as legislators and community developers and community leaders. "We're really looking forward to having that opportunity to be on that platform." The 'Future Forward: Growing Our Economy, Strengthening Our Community' event will kick off Tuesday, April 22, at 3:30 p.m. with a downtown development and revitalization session followed by a legislative reception from 5 to 7 p.m. On Wednesday, April 23, a full day of forums, educational sessions and networking opportunities will all focus on driving local communities toward a prosperous future. For more information on this year's Future Forward Summit and Expo, visit For ticket information, visit For information and booth reservations, contact 304-252-7328 / chamber@
