The Virginia Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would require a woman seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound, virtually assuring the measure will become state law.
Passage of the hotly contested measure by the evenly divided chamber paves the way for the bill to go to Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose signature would make it the law effective July 1. The GOP-dominated House of Delegates is expected to give the measure swift approval.
The vote on the legislation, Senate Bill 484, was 21-18 in the 40-member chamber. Nineteen of the 20 Republicans and two Democrats — Sens. Charles J. Colgan of Prince William County and Phillip P. Puckett of Russell County — voted for the bill.
Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, voted against the measure. Sen. L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, who was against the measure, was absent from the Capitol and did not vote.
Currently, women seeking an abortion may, in consultation with their physician, seek an ultrasound; Senate Bill 484 makes it a mandate. Under the legislation, a woman would not be obligated to view the ultrasound image.
Supporters argued the requirement is an important part of informed consent to the procedure because it would help determine the gestational age of the fetus.
But opponents said the procedure is medically unnecessary, intrudes on the doctor-patient relationship and would impose additional costs of between $100 and $1,000 on a woman seeking the procedure.
Moreover, they said the legislation, lobbied strongly by anti-abortion groups, is a thinly veiled attempt to restrict a woman's legal access to the procedure through shame and additional costs.
Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation of Virginia, praised the vote.
"We are very pleased that the state Senate has recognized the need to update our existing informed-consent practice with the most advanced medical technology available, including an ultrasound," she said in a statement.
"The majority of Virginians see this proposal as reasonable and common-sense, as shown in a recent Mason-Dixon poll showing that 54 percent of Virginians, including 57 percent of women, support it."
In a poll commissioned by the Family Foundation, Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. surveyed 625 registered voters in Virginia statewide Jan. 16-18. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, called the legislation an intrusion.
"Senate Bill 484 represents an unprecedented invasion of the examining room in our commonwealth," she said. "This bill clearly interferes with the doctor-patient relationship.
"Women should have the option of having an ultrasound, not forced to undergo an unnecessary procedure prescribed by politicians."
McDonnell said in an interview Tuesday on Washington's WTOP radio that he supports the proposed ultrasound requirement.
"I think it gives full information," he said.
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