
Yesterday the Free Market Foundation along with several other organizations and individuals testified to the House State Affairs Committee in favor of an ultrasound bill (HB 36) filed by State Representative Frank Corte.
Women and young girls should not be effectively blind-folded as they are led into the abortion office said Jonathan Saenz director of legislative affairs and attorney at Free Market Foundation.
They women should be able to benefit from the advancement of technology and the critical information provided by an ultrasound to make an informed decision."
The bill requires an ultrasound to be performed before a woman has an abortion and also requires that a woman considering abortion be offered the chance to view that ultrasound image as well as hear the heartbeat of her unborn child.
According to Dr. Linda Flower a Texas board-certified family physician and Chairman of the Texas Physicians Resource Council the bill protects both the health of women and the duty of informed consent.
Performing an ultrasound is the standard of care for any procedure that involves the womb including an abortion" said Flower.
Currently in Texas abortion facilities already conduct ultrasounds to date pregnancies and to determine the method of abortion to be used.
However many facilities are neglecting and in some cases refusing to show women their ultrasounds before an abortion.
We cant understand why anyone would want to deny a woman all the information she needs at such a difficult time in her life and why anyone would think that women are not intelligent and not concerned with their bodies" said Sherri Dansby of Texas Alliance for Life. We are fully in support of HB 36."
In addition to giving women the option to view and hear their baby through an ultrasound the Ultrasound Bill will also provide a list of agencies and organizations that offer ultrasounds at no cost to the woman and assist each woman undergoing an abortion in understanding the medical information related to her pregnancy and the abortion.
HB36 is identical to companion bill in the Senate (SB182) filed by Senator Dan Patrick.
Other groups offering support for the bill include:
Texas Right to Life
Texans for Life Coalition
Texas Physicians Resource Council
Texas Alliance for Life
Texas Eagle Forum
Concerned Women for America
Trinity Legal Center
Liberty Legal Institute