States Consider Pro-Life Bills That Reduce Abortions

February 10, 2009

Twelve states are trying to pass laws that will require a woman to get an ultrasound before she gets an abortion. The strictest of these laws are in Texas, Nebraska, and Indiana which mandate that a doctor shows the woman a picture of her child on the ultrasound. Indiana’s law would require a woman to listen to her child’s heartbeat on the monitor. A similar bill is currently being debated in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma bill was supposed to go into effect on Nov. 1, but the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit stating that it infringed on privacy rights.

Some states already have ultrasound-related laws, which include requiring the doctor to perform an ultrasound and telling a woman where she can receive one.   Last year in South Carolina, a compromise was reached that required that a woman be given the option of a free ultrasound one hour before her scheduled abortion. This year, South Carolina legislators are trying to make the waiting period 24 hours.

The States considering ultrasound bills are: Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, South Carolina Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming.

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