Idaho Senate Votes To Require Pre-Abortion Ultrasound

By Laura Zuckerman

SALMON, Idaho--The Idaho Senate on Monday approved a measure requiring women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound before ending a pregnancy, joining a number of states passing ultrasound measures to discourage abortions.

The bill now heads to the state House of Representatives, where it was expected to pass.

Idaho's Republican Governor, C.L. "Butch" Otter has not yet said whether he would sign the bill into law and a spokesman declined to comment on Monday.

Otter said last April, after signing a measure banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, that he supported restrictions on abortion.

Idaho is among 10 states considering a form of ultrasound legislation, said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights think tank.

A law recently passed in Virginia goes into effect in July, which will bring to eight the number of states requiring pre-abortion ultrasounds, she said.

The bill moving through Idaho's legislature is modeled after a Texas law which requires abortion providers to show or describe to a woman an ultrasound image of her fetus.

That 2011 law went into effect last month after withstanding a challenge in federal court.

Like the Texas measure, which is considered the most restrictive in the nation, the bill in Idaho offers women the option of declining to view ultrasound images or listen to the fetal heartbeat.

The legislation would subject abortion providers who do not sign and date a statement about the particulars of the ultrasound and women's responses to it to disciplinary actions or civil penalties.

Supporters of the measure, sponsored by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder of Boise, said it provides another layer of protection for a woman seeking to terminate her pregnancy.

"It provides the opportunity for her to learn all the important facts before making this life-changing decision," according to a statement by Right to Life of Idaho.

Opponents argue that most women seeking abortions in Idaho will be forced to undergo an invasive "vaginally administered" procedure.

The majority of abortions are performed before 10 weeks of pregnancy, when an image of the fetus can only be captured through an internal exam, pediatrician and Democratic state Representative John Rusche, said in a statement.

"The practitioner then needs to record the gestational age and fetal heart rate if present. That info can really only be determined by the ‘internal' study," he said.

Virginia considered but ultimately decided against requiring an invasive vaginal probe after strong criticism from women's groups and abortion rights supporters, who said it would be demeaning to women.

The ultrasound measure passed the Idaho Senate in a 23-12 vote mostly along party lines.

Idaho and five other states in the past two years have enacted late-term abortion bans based on controversial medical research suggesting a fetus feels pain starting at 20 weeks of gestation.

Idaho's 20-week ban and a 1972 law making it a felony for a woman to end her own pregnancy, are being challenged in federal court.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Greg McCune)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Gary Lange]

01:06 AM on 08/24/2012

And women will still vote for Republican candidates.

[SQRLSy One]

01:11 PM on 03/25/2012

Hi, it seems to me that RELIGIOUS FREEDOM could go a LONG way towards saving women from the “shaming wand”… Religious freedoms (and special religious exemptions from rules and laws, like allowing male Jewish people to wear skull-caps in court-rooms where hats are prohibited to the rest of us, as being “disrespectful” to the courts) should not be reserved just for people society calls “virtuous”. Women seeking abortions should be able to get special religious exemptions as well. Please go to www.churchofSQRLS.com and search for (towards the way bottom) “shaming wand”. Then also please see http://www.churchofsqrls.com/sonograms/ for specific and concrete examples on just HOW to use religious freedom to exempt yourselves from the “shaming wand”… As an entirely practical matter! Planned Parenthood web sites won’t tell me their email addresses, so I don’t know how to get the Good Word about Scienfoology “Out There”… Please help! Or at least, spread the Good Word! – [e-mail]

[valmach]

08:49 PM on 03/23/2012

This reminds of the history of Germany, When Nazi's raped or forced Scandinavian women to have babies by German Soldiers, because Hitler feared that there was not enough Aryan babies on the planet - "Fear of A black Planet"

[daringsugar]

02:25 PM on 03/22/2012

The Republicans continue their assault on women and their rights! Every woman out there needs to think of all this next time they vote! I know I defintely will!!

[rchadwick]

10:23 AM on 03/21/2012

It seems that those on the left seek to defend every type of unborn life except human life. They defend the rights of 'unborn, endangered' animals, and yet have no regard for unborn humans.

Does a heartbeat symbolize life? "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

These women need to know that having an abortion ends the life of an unborn human, thus denying the unborn human his/her unalienable Right of Life.

[sdterp]

10:19 AM on 03/21/2012

There is no medical necessity for these procedures and statements like, "It provides the opportunity for her to learn all the important facts before making this life-changing decision," shows women are perceived by these law makers as being naive and needing the guidance of the government. Mind you, all of these laws are being proposed by Republicans. The party of small, non-invasive govt & who ran on a jobs, jobs, jobs platform this last election. If they're concerned about women making informed choices start a campaign of public education & proper sexual education in public schools.

[pomeria]

01:41 AM on 03/21/2012

The law is intended to control women's health issues. The legislature believes they know more about a woman's health than the woman and her Doctor do. That expresses an extremely low regard and a lack of respect for both women and the medical profession. The next step in control of women would be to repeal the 19th amendment to the constitution. It would not be the first time that an amendment to the constitution was repealed. It could happen.

[unelectcongress]

08:34 PM on 03/20/2012

In Pa Corbett did the same thing. I have been researching this...according to what I found so far.......States are not allowed to supersede Federal Law..........so if they try to make any woman do this she has the right to take it to the Highest Court in the Land. .....Anyone, please correct me if I'm wrong.

[pomeria]

01:35 AM on 03/21/2012

unelectcongress. By the time a woman can get to the lower court, appealed the case to try to take it to higher court etc., she will have either had the baby or died in childbirth.

[unelectcongress]

02:07 AM on 03/21/2012

But Federal HIPPA laws should protect.....no?

[JeffE]

04:54 PM on 03/20/2012

And the republican assault on the right to privacy (and women's rights) keeps on rolling.

[Twelve]

04:26 PM on 03/20/2012

Idaho - neo- nazi land. Good place to be from.

[DevonTexas]

12:07 PM on 03/20/2012

It's going to take years to straighten out all the silly legislation enacted by Repug theocracies.

[RiverCitySlicker]

11:44 AM on 03/20/2012

March 19, 2012 - The Associated Press

Report: Idaho misses mark on open government

A new report by a watchdog group ranks Idaho among the lowest states when it comes to operating a government that is transparent, accountable and has viable protections against corruption in place.

The 50-state report was issued Monday by the Center for Public Integrity.

Using a report card grading scale, the authors gave Idaho a D-minus and ranked the state 40th overall. No state received an A and just five states earned B grades

The study considered strength of laws and policies designed to encourage open government and deter corruption. It also considered access to information, campaign finance laws, lobbying disclosure and ethics enforcement.

As part of its overall score, Idaho received failing grades in categories for executive accountability, legislative accountability and ethics enforcement agencies.

[rcwhite364]

11:41 AM on 03/20/2012

So nice to see the state I grew up in is as regressive as ever. Nothing quite like state rape to solve all their problems.

[RiverCitySlicker]

11:41 AM on 03/20/2012

Idaho - the über red state that gave us Larry Craig.

And one of the most backward, provincial states in the Union.

I know, I live in Boise.

What did you expect?

[RiverCitySlicker]

11:27 AM on 03/20/2012

I live here in Boise, and I can tell you that there are more than just a few women who are furious about this. While we all have to listen to these men on a regular basis pontificating about the importance of eliminating government intrusion in our lives, and about reducing the size of government, it's obvious they would like to make some parts of government small enough to FIT INTO A UTERUS. Hypocrites.

[marymeade2]

05:24 PM on 03/20/2012

It's for women seeking abortions. Don't you think they deserve a chance to change their mind? For crying out loud, it's just a pre abortion proceedure. Does every woman live for the day they can get an abortion?

[Hannah Garrett]

06:22 AM on 03/21/2012

"it's just a pre abortion proceedure", no, it is a procedure which is being forced on women by anti-choicers like you. In the case of trans-vaginal ultrasounds, they are the equivalent of state sanctioned rape. You and your regressive friends need to keep your noses out of other women's vaginas. In fact, I volunteer you as the first test subject since you are so quick to give your stamp of approval to this repugnant mandate.

[Hannah Garrett]

06:34 AM on 03/21/2012

Oh, by the way, your bio does not match your post.