MADISON — Both the state Senate and Assembly passed a bill requiring ultrasounds for those considering an abortion.
According to the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) Capital Update report, the vote was 17-15 in favor in the Senate and 56-39 in favor in the Assembly for Senate Bill 206 (authored by Senator Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin), also known as “Sonya’s Law.”
Wisconsin Right to Life explained that Sonya, a Wisconsin mother of two children, learned that she was pregnant with her third child this past November. Sonya worried about how she could handle another child, emotionally and financially. She seriously thought about abortion.
Then Sonya saw a Milwaukee transit bus ad about a free ultrasound and decided to have one. She learned she was seven weeks pregnant. Once she saw her child and realized his heart was beating, Sonya made an emotional connection with her baby and decided to carry him to term. Sonya will deliver a baby boy in July.The bill named after her would require that a physician who is to perform an abortion:
- Perform or arrange for a qualified person to perform an ultrasound using whichever transducer the pregnant woman chooses.
- Provide a simultaneous oral explanation during the ultrasound.
- Display the ultrasound images so that the woman may view them.
- Provide a medical description of the ultrasound images.
- Provide a means for the woman to visualize any fetal heartbeat if a heartbeat is detectable.
- Require that abortion doctors have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of an abortion clinic.
The bill now goes to Governor Scott Walker, who is expected to sign it.