Texas Lawmakers Consider Sonogram Bill

AUSTIN, Texas, March 11, 2009 -- A controversial Texas bill that requires women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound has reignited a battle between politicians and pro-choice advocates throughout the state.

Senate bill 182 and House bill 36 propose that a pregnant woman must have an ultrasound, listen to her fetus's heartbeat and sign a written statement confirming that these requirements have been fulfilled.

In 2007, the state Senate approved the bill, but it stalled in the House. For this session, if the bill passes with a 2/3 vote of the House, it will go into effect Sept. 1.

Lawmakers around the country are considering similar legislation. In fact, Texas is one of 11 states voting on pre-abortion ultrasounds. South Carolina already has a law requiring women be given the option of viewing an ultrasound an hour before getting an abortion.

"This bill would be like a politician sitting directly in the exam room between the physician and the client," said Sarah Wheat, vice president for community affairs at Planned Parenthood in Austin.

Wheat, who formerly worked with NARAL Pro-Choice America, said women who seek abortions at Planned Parenthood already receive ultrasounds so that the doctor can check for problems and see the development of the pregnancy.

The bill requires that women be shown their ultrasound, but allows them to divert their eyes. They must also be read a description of the size and development of the fetus, and listen to the fetal heartbeat. Most patients, though, are in their first trimester of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat is difficult to detect, Wheat said.

"This will have no impact on the rate of abortions in Texas," Wheat said. "These politicians think that women don't know anything about abortions when they come into the doctor's office, and that's false. They're just continually making hoops that women have to jump through."

Current requirements under Texas law for women seeking abortions include having to wait 24 hours between scheduling an abortion and having the procedure. Women are also given detailed medical information that maintains that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, a theory that has been widely discredited by a number of institutions, including the National Cancer Institute.

Under the new bill, women would receive a pamphlet with this information in addition to being told it.