CHARLESTON — Two polls over the last two days show West Virginians may be open to limited exceptions to any future abortion ban.

Jackson County radio station WMOV 1360 AM and Oregon-based Triton Polling and Research released the results of a new poll Wednesday seeking the opinion of West Virginia voters on a variety of issues, including abortion.

According to the poll, conducted Aug. 24-26 with 762 respondents and a 3.5% margin of error, 67.7% of respondents strongly support an exception for instances of rape and incest in any future abortion ban, with 13.9% somewhat supportive of rape and incest exceptions. Only 8.5% of respondents strongly opposed rape and incest exceptions.

When asked whether they would support a candidate for the West Virginia Legislature who supports a complete and total abortion ban, 53.9% said they would not support such a candidate, 21% said they would support that candidate, and 25% said they were not sure or did not know. When asked whether it should be the role of government to ban abortions in West Virginia, 52.2% said no, 32.8% said yes, and 14% said they were unsure.

The WMOV/Triton poll tracks with another poll released Tuesday by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and conducted by North Star Opinion Research with 600 likely voters. According to that poll, 51% of respondents said they are pro-life while 45% consider themselves pro-choice. However, only 18% of respondents believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances while only 13% said it should be completely illegal in all circumstances.

When broken down further by party, 77% of Republican respondents said they were more pro-life than pro-choice. But less than one in five Republican respondents said they would support an abortion law that did not include exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

A special session of the West Virginia Legislature is on pause while disagreements between Republicans in the state Senate and House of Delegates are ironed out over House Bill 302, clarifying West Virginia’s abortion laws.

HB 302 would ban all abortions beginning at fertilization except for medical emergencies, a non-medically viable fetus, the instance of a pregnancy when a fetus develops outside the uterus, and in the instance of incest or sexual assault under certain circumstances.

The Senate amended HB 302 July 29, limiting the sexual assault/incest abortion exception from to eight weeks of gestation for adults and 14 weeks of gestation for minors, and allowing an exception for sexual assault and incest if the person seeks medical treatment with a licensed medical professional or at a licensed medical facility as long as the abortion is not performed by the same medical professional or medical facility.

Another amendment would allow a report made by a minor to a mandatory reporter — such as a teacher or counselor who are required to report instances of sexual assault to law enforcement – to be considered a valid report if an abortion is needed. A final amendment removed provisions in HB 302 making it a felony to perform an abortion or attempt to induce an abortion.

The House refused to concur with the changes the Senate made to the bill and asked for a conference committee be appointed to work out differences between the two bodies, but both the House and Senate adjourned subject to recall before the committee could be formed.

House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, announced last week that the House will resume the special session Monday, Sept. 12, to appoint its members for the conference committee. Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, said the Senate would not resume the special session until a consensus on abortion is reached first.

Abortion was added as a topic to the special session that began July 25 to consider Gov. Jim Justice’s personal income tax cut plan. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed two previous high court decisions that gave women the right to abortion access. A circuit court in Kanawha County issued a preliminary injunction against the felony abortion law, which dates back to the mid-1800s, allowing abortions in the state to continue up to 20 weeks of gestation.