Va. Senate approves abortion ultrasound requirement; Byron bill on track in House

The Virginia Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would require a woman seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound, virtually assuring it will become state law.

An identical bill, sponsored by Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County, was being tweaked in a House of Delegates subcommittee Wednesday.

It is the fifth time Byron sponsored the ultrasound measure, which has always passed the House and failed in a Senate committee that, for the previous four years, was stacked with Democrats.

House subcommittee chairman David Albo, R-Fairfax County, said he just wanted to pin down “the mechanics” of the bill’s ultrasound requirements before sending it out on Monday. 

Byron said her proposal mirrored the Senate bill’s text.

The Republican-dominated House is expected to approve her bill once again.

The measure was hotly contested in the Senate, but its 21-18 approval there essentially means the bill will go to Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose signature would make the law effective July 1.

Nineteen of the 20 Senate Republicans and two Democrats — Sens. Charles Colgan of Prince William and Phillip Puckett of Russell — voted for the bill.

Currently, women seeking an abortion may, in consultation with their physician, seek an ultrasound; Senate Bill 484 makes it a mandate. So does Byron's House Bill 462.

Under the Senate legislation a woman would not be obligated to view the ultrasound image. Byron's bill would require the woman sign papers saying she chose not to view the image or listen to the fetal heartbeat.

Supporters argued the ultrasound is an important part of informed consent to the procedure because it would help determine the gestational age of the fetus. 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.

Opponents also 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 Senate 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 between 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 be forced to undergo an unnecessary procedure prescribed by politicians,” Keene said.

McDonnell said in an interview Tuesday on Washington's WTOP radio he supports the proposed ultrasound requirement.

“I think it gives full information,” he said.