Wis. bill would require an ultrasound before an abortion

An ultrasound would be required before an abortion under a bill moving through the Legislature, and clinics that perform the procedure would need admitting privileges at a nearby hospital — a provision that has threatened to shut down clinics in other states.

"The ultrasound is the gold standard of medical decision-making," Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) said during her testimony Wednesday before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. "The intent of the legislation is to strengthen the informed-consent law."

"There are a lot of women that regret their abortion," she said, adding that a woman who sees the ultrasound images might change her mind about whether to terminate her pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood's Nicole Safar said the legislation threatened to take the state back 50 years.

"The state mandating what a doctor has to tell a patient and what a doctor physically has to do to a patient is inappropriate," [you mean like explaining the side effects of drugs??] Safar said. "It's not your role." [Now wait a second, how can someone support Obamacare which mandates everything to doctors, and then say that the government cannot mandate ultrasounds on the ground that it's not the government's role?  I'm surprised Safar had such a weak retort, I can think of a handful of excuses that play better than it's not the state's role]

The bill was referred to as "Sonya's law" after a woman who changed her mind about having an abortion after seeing her fetus on an ultrasound. Lazich and Rep. Pat Strachota (R-West Bend) are co-authors of the bill.

Testimony on the bill before the Senate committee came as the Assembly Health Committee acted on two other abortion bills. One would allow religious institutions to remove contraception and abortion coverage from their health insurance plans. The other would outlaw abortions based on the sex of the fetus. Both passed the Assembly committee 7-4, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats against.

continue at JS

I think Sonya's Law is WRTL but it's not mentioned in the article.  On the side note for protection for "religious institutions," does anyone know who that is?

I have literally had some type of event to attend in the evening all but maybe 3 days over the past 4 weeks.  So I'm sure I'm missing stuff.  Thanks to those of you who shot me emails, I really do appreciate it.  It looks like I have two days "off" in the next week, would love to get caught up.