Va. Senate passes ultrasound requirement for abortions

RICHMOND

Virginia women seeking an abortion may soon be required to undergo an ultrasound first.

The Virginia Senate approved the requirement Wednesday on a 21-18 vote mainly along party lines. It is the first significant anti-abortion measure to pass the Senate since Republicans took effective control of the chamber following the fall elections; more are pending.

Two Democratic senators, Charles Colgan of Prince William County and Phillip Puckett of Russell County, voted in favor of it, while Republican Sen. John Watkins of Powhatan County opposed it.

The bill from Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel would make women seeking abortions get an ultrasound, give them a chance to view the image, and require providers to keep a copy of it on file.

Vogel, a Fauquier County Republican, defended the measure as a way to determine the gestational age of a fetus and improve safety for women planning to end a pregnancy, and said it isn't an effort to stop them from doing so.

"It absolutely does not infringe on her right to have an abortion," she said. "All it says is that you'll have an ultrasound. It doesn't compel you to see the results."

Literature from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists indicates that pre-abortion ultrasounds aren't always a medical necessity.

Democratic critics such as Norfolk Sen. Ralph Northam, a physician, see the bill as imposing an unnecessary mandate, adding to the cost, and interfering with the doctor-patient relationship.

Northam said it's unethical to require patients to have a medical procedure against their will, and that it contradicts state efforts to control health-care spending.

Vogel's bill, SB484, now heads to the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, which in years past has approved similar legislation only to see it defeated in the Senate.

The measure would require an ultrasound at least 24 hours before an abortion, but would make an exception for women who live 100 miles or more from the abortion facility - theirs could be done two hours before the procedure.

The bill is a priority for social conservatives this session. Gov. Bob McDonnell has said he'll sign it if it reaches his desk.

Action on the bill was delayed Tuesday as Democrats crafted an amendment that would have made the ultrasound optional, but Republicans denied a request for a second postponement the following day.

Northam withdrew the proposed change before Wednesday's debate, later saying he pulled it because members of the Senate Democratic Caucus realized they didn't have enough votes to get it approved.

But a Democratic source with knowledge of the discussion painted a different picture.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Democratic leaders opted to abandon that fight and let the bill pass so they could use it against Republicans in future political battles.

When asked whether politics influenced strategy on the bill, caucus Chairman Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico County, rejected that notion. He said many caucus members simply opposed voting for legislation requiring an ultrasound, even if it was softened.

Julian Walker, 804-697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com