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AUSTIN—Gov. Rick Perry on May 19 signed a bill requiring most women seeking abortions in Texas to undergo a sonogram at least 24 hours prior to the procedure and to hear a description of the baby’s physical features. It passed both chambers of the Texas Legislature on May 5.
House Bill 15 gives a woman the option of seeing her unborn baby and requires the person performing a sonogram—a physician or certified sonographer—to describe the dimensions of the baby and the existence of the baby’s arms, legs, and internal organs, including a heartbeat.
Women living in counties of fewer than 60,000 people or beyond 100 miles of an abortion facility and those in a life-threatening medical emergency are exempted from the 24-hour waiting period. Rural women would instead have to wait only two hours. Also, in cases of rape, incest or fetal abnormality, women could refuse hearing the verbal description from the sonogram.
In January, Perry placed the bill on emergency status at the start of the legislative session, which gave it priority consideration over other bills. It became effective upon signing.
Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, was chief sponsor of the House version, with state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, sponsoring the Senate version.
Patrick told the TEXAN in April that a few pro-life groups criticized the bill as not stringent enough, but it got support from Liberty Institute, Texas Right to Life and Eagle Forum.
It was roundly opposed by abortion rights groups, who claim it violates doctor-patient privacy. The Texas Medical Association opposed the bill, arguing that it not only “sets a dangerous precedent of legislation prescribing the details of the practice of medicine, but it also clearly mandates that physicians practice in a manner inconsistent with medical ethics.”
But Miller told reporters: “House Bill 15 will protect human life, the lives of the unborn victims of abortion, as well as those facing life-changing decisions. … This legislation will save numerous unborn lives.”
After it passed the Senate, Perry said in a statement: “The Texas Senate has taken admirable action today by passing this significant sonogram legislation, and I want to thank Rep. Sid Miller and Sen. Dan Patrick for their work on this issue. Ensuring Texans have access to all the information when making such an important decision is a critical step in our efforts to protect life, and I look forward to this legislation reaching my desk very soon.”
A similar bill passed last year in Oklahoma is in limbo, awaiting the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, based in New York City.
