A key Texas House committee OK’d a new law Wednesday that would require women have a sonogram before an abortion, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.
The bill could be heard by the full state House next week. The Senate has already passed a similar bill. There are slight differences in the bills, but supporters are confident they can be worked out to make Texas abortion laws some of the toughest in the country.
State Rep. Sid Miller, a Stephenville Republican, wrote the House bill.
“It’s about informed consent,” he told the Morning News. “We want to make sure the best information is available to women.”
The House bill would require women seeking an abortion to have a sonogram at least 24 hours in advance of the procedure. That means she would have to make two trips to the doctors in that time period. Women would be able to sign a waiver to decline to view the sonogram, hear a description of fetal development and listen to the heartbeat.
Dr. Mikeal Love, an Austin obstetrician-gynecologist, testified before the State Affairs Committee and said bill will “improve the quality of care.”
“By using an ultrasound, you have a real-time picture that transcends educational levels, language barriers and cultural differences that may exist,” Love said.
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