State Rep., Pro-Choice Group Upset at Sonogram Bill

HOUSTON - A controversial abortion bill was passed Thursday evening.

The State Legislature passed a bill which requires a woman to get a sonogram before having an abortion.

This is something we've been talking about for a few years now and it has generated a lot of heat.

All it needs now is the Governor’s signature.

The bill was put on the fast track after Governor Rick Perry designated it "emergency legislation."

It has already received final approval from the Senate and just today, from the House.

The bill would require a doctor to do an ultrasound on a woman, explain it to her, offer her the chance to see the results, hear the fetal heartbeat and wait 24 hours after the sonogram to get an abortion.

But the bill's author, Republican State Senator Dan Patrick, said a woman would not be forced to look at the results.

“Are sonograms performed now? The answer is yes. Planned Parenthood testified over the years they already do the sonograms in 100 percent of the cases, they simply don’t show the woman and if the woman asks they say they can’t see it. What this bill does is simply say the woman has the option to see the sonogram, has the option to hear the heartbeat and must have an explanation,” said the Senator.

The bill exempts women who get pregnant as the result of rape or incest.

Meanwhile, State Rep Carol Alvarado said she's upset this bill was adopted.

“I think it’s very demeaning to women and I think we have more important things to do like balance the budget without hurting families and make sure we can fully fund education and healthcare and take care of things that are important to our economy and not political partisan issues such as a sonogram bill I thought it was a very intrusive example of big government,” said Alvarado.

And NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, a non-profit state-wide organization, issued this statement:

"Patrick consistently fails to publicly mention the hardship that the 24-waiting period between the sonogram and abortion will cause for those who live in the 93% of Texas counties that don't have an abortion provider. Indeed, this bill is designed to shame women, as if we are daft creatures unable to make personal, private medical decisions without the paternalistic oversight of legislators.”

I asked the senator if taxpayers would be paying for the sonograms and he said no It's included in the cost of the abortion.

Once this bill is signed by the Governor, Texas will become only the 4th state in the country to require a sonogram before getting an abortion.