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ID Senate Passes Ultrasound Bill

Yesterday the Idaho Senate voted 23 to 12 to pass Senate Bill 1387, which would require women seeking an abortion to first undergo an ultrasound. The bill will now go to the Idaho House of Representatives and is expected to pass. Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) has not yet indicated whether he will sign the bill.

Senator Les Bock (D-Garden City) stated, “Senate Bill 1387 wants to say, the state knows better. This is just another version of Big Brother.”

Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, indicated that 10 other states are considering ultrasound bills. On March 7th Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) signed a widely-contested bill requiring that women undergo an ultrasound 24 hours prior to having an abortion, making Virginia the eighth state to pass ultrasound legislation into law. The ultrasound bill passed the Virginia General Assembly after Republican Governor Bob McDonnell submitted an amendment to the bill requiring that women undergo an external, transabdominal ultrasound, as opposed to a transvaginal ultrasound, as originally stated in the bill.

Reuters 3/20/12; Associated Press 3/19/12

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