Posted on 05/30/2009 7:37:20 AM PDT by stan_sipple
Forty senators gave their blessing Friday to a bill that Nebraska Right to Life hailed as one of the strongest abortion ultrasound bills in the country, and one that could reduce abortions in the state.
The bill (LB675), introduced by Lincoln Sen. Tony Fulton, requires providers of abortions to tell women of the medical risks of the procedure they are seeking, and that they cannot be forced to have an abortion. They also can request and be provided a list, compiled by the state Department of Health and Human Services, of healthcare providers and clinics that offer free ultrasounds performed by a person “at least as qualified” as a registered nurse.
If an ultrasound is performed, it must be provided at least one hour prior to the abortion and displayed so that the woman can choose to view it or not view it. She can also request that the provider describe what she sees on the display, including fetal dimensions, heart activity and the presence of arms, legs and organs.
Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, said the bill may affect “the assembly line nature of how abortions are performed.” The woman, she said, will truly be able to view her unborn child on the screen one hour before going through “an irreversible decision.”
In earlier debate on the bill, opponents argued women already have the right to look at ultrasound images in abortion clinics.
Planned Parenthood of Nebraska and Council Bluffs political organizer Bobbie Kierstead said that clinic has for a long time routinely done ultrasounds for women seeking abortions and always offers the option of viewing it or not.
In Nebraska, Planned Parenthood performs abortions at its Lincoln clinic.
The troubling aspect of the bill, Kierstead said, is that it interjects legislators into the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship.
But, Schmit-Albin said, abortion providers do not operate in the same manner as other medical professionals.
“It behooves the state to pass legislation which ensures women undergoing abortion have true informed consent about the procedure,” she said. “The burden will no longer be on the mother to have to ask to view the screen.”
Kierstead said people who want to reduce abortions should start with the root cause: unintended pregnancies.
Roughly half of pregnancies in the United States are unintended, she said. And half of those end in abortion.
The ways to reduce unintended pregnancies, she said, are education, access to contraception and encouraging abstinence among teenagers.
Most abortions are provided to women in their 20s, Kierstead said.
Five senators voted no on the bill’s final reading: Kathy Campbell, Danielle Nantkes and Amanda McGill of Lincoln, and Brenda Council and Gwen Howard of Omaha.
Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery was present not voting. He said he felt the bill was “pretty meaningless” and he had constituents urging him to oppose it. His present and not voting decision was a “soft no,” he said.
Gov. Dave Heineman signed the bill after it was delivered to him Friday
Why argue — Promote ultrasound, end abortion. No sane woman can look at her child in her womb and not understand ...
Sneaky end run — It’s what liberals do.
They sure don't have too much trouble about that aspect when it comes to trying to force a doctor to do abortions against his conscience and moral objections.
The hypocrisy of the left is just staggering.
One of the “no” voters was RINO Kathy Campbell.
or forcing girls to get HPV shots, exactly
Of course! That’s why they don’t want women to have this option, because EVERY woman knows she is carrying her own flesh and blood child. It is an innate, God-given awareness.
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