Last Friday, the Nebraska legislature approved and the Nebraska governor signed into law a bill that will require abortion providers to make an ultrasound easily visible to all women one hour before the abortion is performed. The right to life movement says this is necessary to ensure that women give “informed consent” to receive an abortion, and argues that women will not be forced to see the ultrasound, merely allowed.
However, turning an ultrasound screen to face the patient is just as likely to increase the stress and trauma of what is already a difficult decision for most women. Showing remarkable insensitivity towards victims of rape and incest, the bill makes no exception even for these women when they seek an abortion. Like any other medical procedure, abortion should be between a woman and her doctor, with the doctor free to decide how best to advise the patient given her physical and psychological condition. As Bobbie Kierstead of Planned Parenthood told Fox News, “This is basically telling doctors what information and what care is best for their patients.”
