New trend: Ultrasounds before abortion

A dozen states are now considering policies that require doctors to provide women with ultrasounds before performing abortions.

The Associated Press outlined several states that are seeking to enact legislation requiring ultrasounds. They include the following:

Connecticut: Doctors would be required to make ultrasound images available to their patients.

According to Americans united for life, Connecticut maintains its own “Freedom of Choice Act.” It mandates that citizens have a fundamental "right" to abortion even if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The act states, “The decision to terminate a pregnancy prior to the viability of the fetus shall be solely that of the pregnant woman in consultation with her physician.”

Indiana: Doctors must inform pregnant patients of their right to an ultrasound and allow them to listen to the baby's heartbeat. They will be required to provide ultrasounds to patients at least 18 hours before an abortion.

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The state also requires doctors to provide information about the abortion procedure and the child – including probable gestational age and possible alternatives to abortion.

Indiana does not allow minors to have abortions without parental consent or a court order. The state also bans partial-birth abortion.

Kansas: A physician must give his patient a chance to have an ultrasound and listen to the baby's heartbeat at least 30 minutes before she undergoes an abortion.

Under current law, the woman must be given complete information about the abortion method, risks and development of her unborn baby. Patients must also be informed of potential risks of breast cancer following an abortion procedure.

Abortions may not be performed on minors unless a parent has been informed or a court has provided an order to do so.

Maryland: One bill would require all abortion clinics one a Maryland county to offer ultrasound images and allow patients to listen to the baby's heartbeat.

Currently, the state does not have an informed consent.

Maryland maintains its own “Freedom of Choice Act.” It mandates that citizens have a fundamental "right" to abortion even if Roe v. Wade is overturned and does not allow the state "to interfere with the decision of a woman to terminate a pregnancy" before the baby is considered "viable."

Missouri: Physicians and other "professionals" performing abortions must provide information about free ultrasound services, allow the woman access to an ultrasound and provide her with a chance to listen to the heartbeat of her unborn baby.

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Currently, a patient must be informed of risks of abortions 24 hours before terminating her pregnancy. Doctors must have written parental consent or a court order to perform abortions on minors.

According to Americans United for Life, the state's General Assembly "has found that the life of each human being begins at conception." The state prohibits partial-birth abortion throughout pregnancy.

Nebraska: Doctors will be required to show ultrasounds to patients at least 24 hours before providing an abortion and give a medical description if the patient asks for one.

Another measure requires doctor to inform patients of their right to an ultrasound at least 24 hours before terminating the pregnancy.

Currently, doctors must counsel their patients on abortion risks 24 hours before the procedure. They must also present written notice to parents of minors at least 48 hours before the abortion.

New York: Patients must be offered ultrasounds. Currently the state does not have informed consent or parental involvement laws.

According to Americans United for Life, in Hope v. Perales, the due process provision of the New York Constitution was interpreted as protecting a woman’s right to abortion.

North Dakota: Medical professionals would not be allowed to terminate pregnancies without first offering an ultrasound.

Currently, doctors must inform their patients of medical risks and gestational age of the unborn baby at least 24 hours before an abortion. Doctors must obtain written consent from a parent or a court order before performing an abortion on a minor.

The Americans United for Life website states that North Dakota has enacted a measure banning abortion should Roe v. Wade be overturned. The state prohibits partial-birth abortion.

South Carolina: Currently, women must be given an opportunity to view an ultrasound at least an hour prior to having an abortion, but new legislation would change that waiting period to 24 hours.

As of today, doctors must inform their patients of the unborn baby's gestational age and development and provide information about abortion procedures. The state bans partial-birth abortion.

Texas: Doctors will be required to show ultrasounds to patients, display the results and explain the images. They must also allow the woman to listen to the unborn baby's heartbeat. All must be done at least two hours before the abortion.

Currently, physicians are required to present patients of the nature and risks of an abortion and gestational age and development of the unborn baby at least 24 hours before the abortion. Doctors must also tell women about medical links between abortion and breast cancer. The state does not allow abortions to be performed on minors without parental consent or court order.

Virginia: An ultrasound of the unborn baby would be mandatory, and patients must be allowed to view the results.

Under current law, a doctor cannot perform an abortion unless he provides "a full, reasonable, and comprehensible medical explanation of the nature, benefits, risks of and alternatives to abortion" at least 24 hours beforehand. Physicians must also inform the patient of the gestational age of the unborn baby and must have written parental consent before performing abortions on minors.

Wyoming: Doctors would be required to show ultrasounds to patients and explain them. However, the Associated Press reports the measure was recently defeated in committee. Currently, the state has no informed consent law.

Florida: A bill would require women to pay $100 to $200 for their own ultrasounds before having an abortion. The patient must waive her right to see the image

Last year, a similar law in Oklahoma mandated ultrasounds for women seeking abortions. A district judge blocked the law on Oct 29, only days before it was scheduled to be implemented. Tulsa's Reproductive Services, an abortion clinic in the city, requested the court order. Lawyers said the law would invade privacy and assault patient dignity.

Ultrasounds provide real-time video images of the unborn child throughout the pregnancy. A Focus on the Family study found that up to 87 percent of women who see their fetuses in an ultrasound choose to keep the baby.

As WND reported, pro-life advocates have adopted the tactic to reduce the demand for abortion, and it has proven so successful it already is being credited with saving tens of thousands of lives.

In 2004, Focus on the Family launched its national Option Ultrasound program which helps provide the expensive machines to pregnancy centers, helps train people to accurately run the procedures, and helps advance the status of the centers from counseling offices to medical clinics. The program pays about 80 percent of the cost of the machines and personnel training, so that local officials maintain their participation by raising some of the funds. The machines themselves range in cost from $22,000 to $75,000, depending on the exact features required.

The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates also works on making ultrasound machines and training available under a plan called The Life Choice Project.

Kim Conroy, director of sanctity of human life issues for the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, said the technology allows a woman to meet her unborn baby before terminating its life.

"In the course of that, this miraculous thing that happens is this woman comes face to face with her unborn child," Conroy said. "Before it was theoretical information, but now it's 'This is not a blob of tissue, it's not some undefined mass.'"