On Thursday, April 10, 2025, the Senate approved legislation repealing state code requiring newborns to receive an antibiotic eye ointment after birth to prevent medical pink eye, which can lead to blindness. (Will Price, West Virginia Legislative Photography)
West Virginia law requires medical professionals to treat babies’ eyes with an ointment designed to prevent pink eye or blindness if the baby comes into touch with bacteria or a sexually transmitted disease in the delivery canal.
On Thursday, the Senate narrowly adopted a bill eliminating that state code rule, which the House of Delegates had approved earlier this month. While the bill does not prohibit the use of the ointment, medical professionals are concerned that removing the obligation may result in an increase in baby blindness rates.
“People who vote for this bill are voting for babies’ blindness,” said Dr. Nicole Bryce, an OBGYN resident at Charleston Area Medical Center.
“There are very few things that are this inexpensive, this easy to administer that make such a huge difference in the lives of children,” she told me.
Sen. Chris Rose, R-Monongalia, voted in favor of the bill, saying, “This just gives parental rights [and] parental choice.”
Newborns are given erythromycin eye ointment after birth to prevent medical pink eye in the first month of life, and it has been the recommended standard of treatment for decades.
It protects against gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted illnesses that cause pinkeye. If left untreated, newborn pinkeye from gonorrhea can result in blindness or life-threatening meningitis.
Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, a physician, informed senators that “nine out of ten women are unaware they are infected” with gonorrhea.
It is already a misdemeanor felony for a provider to fail to apply a topical treatment to a newborn’s eyes.
House Bill 3444, sponsored by Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell. He claimed that the code, passed in 1923, was “outdated.”
“I am against codifying standards of care to providers,” Worrell disclosed. “This decision should be between a provider and patient and not punishable by a misdemeanor and investigated as current code calls for.”
“I don’t expect [the] current process for newborns to change at all, just removing the code section,” according to him.
Bryce said she expected pediatricians would continue to do their best to apply the ointment to babies.
“It’s cheap and effective,” she explained. “We can observe serious damage to these children’s eyes in 24 to 48 hours, including blindness. The answer is to apply an ointment.
Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, expressed concern that the change will affect women in rural counties, where they may not have access to prenatal care. He stated that women may not be trained about the usage of ointment to provide informed consent during birth.
“I don’t understand why we would risk our children being blind,” Garcia told me. “I don’t see why we’re doing this bill.”
Takubo attempted to amend the measure on Wednesday, requiring a physician, midwife, or other birth attendant to apply the ointment to a newborn’s eyes immediately after delivery.
“We could remove that and hope for the best or we could continue a well-established, safe procedure and protect children,” he told me.
Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, rejected the proposal, stating that the standard of care would not alter. She claimed that many women could heal their newborns’ eyes “homeopathically” with breast milk.
“We have found that the overuse of antibiotics causes issues,” Rucker informed me.
The amendment failed 13-16 in the Senate.
Bryce emphasized that breast milk or colostrum, a mother’s initial milk after birth, will not prevent blindness in gonorrhea-infected kids.
“Colostrum in no way shape or form can cure gonorrhea,” she informed me.
Before the vote, Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, told senators that he opposed the bill, stating, “Freedom has a price.”
“The parent has the right to say ‘I don’t want to put that drug in a child’s eye,'” he stated.” “But who pays for that if there’s blindness?”
The Senate adopted the bill by a vote of 18-15. Before the bill can be sent to Gov. Patrick Morrisey for consideration, the House must concur with the Senate’s vote.
