West Virginia House committee approves bill requiring ultrasounds before abortions information about
West Virginia House Health and Human Resources on Monday voted 16-9 to approve a bill (HB 4517) requiring doctors to give women the opportunity to view an ultrasound image at least one hour to perform an abortion, the Charleston Gazette reports. According to the Journal, the rule applies only if the ultrasound technology is already in use. The Senate adopted the bill last week (Knezevic, Charleston Gazette, 3 / 8). The bill is now in the House Judiciary Committee (AP / Charleston Gazette, 3 / 8).Reprinted with permission. You can view the report of the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. Report on women’s health day is a free service of the National Partnership for Women and Families, published by the Board consulting firm.
Under current law, abortion providers are required to provide patient information on pregnancy, prenatal care, the risks of abortion, alternatives to the procedure and other issues (Charleston Gazette, 3 / 8). In most cases, suppliers are authorized to provide this information by phone (text of bill, 2 / 16). The committee rejected an amendment by Rep. Barbara Fleischauer State (D), which would eliminate the requirement for doctors to tell patients and the availability of ultrasound has added information to the current list of revelations. The committee also rejected an amendment that would allow doctors to keep their licenses if they failed to meet the requirements of the bill (Charleston Gazette, 3 / 8).
