The Virginia Senate passed this afternoon a controversial piece of legislation that requires women considering having an abortion to first undergo an external ultrasound examination before terminating a pregnancy. The bill, which in its original form would have required women to undergo an invasive, transvaginal ultrasound, will soon go to the desk of Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has said he will sign the measure.
The vote in the narrowly divided senate was 21-19. Two Democrats, Charles Colgan of Prince William County and Phil Puckett of Russell County, voted with the Republican majority; one Republican, John Watkins of Chesterfield County, voted against the bill. (Had there been a 20-20 tie, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, would have cast the deciding vote.)
Speaking earlier today on WTOP, McDonnell said House Bill 462 “protects the dignity of women” by “providing them with all the information,” about reproductive health services. As noted then, the governor has no qualms with forced ultrasounds, yet is bothered by scanning devices used by the Transportation Security Agency.
McDonnell, who is seen as a potential running mate for the Republican Party’s eventual presidential nominee, only days ago backed off his support for the invasive ultrasound procedures. The version passed today, The Washington Post reports, was also amended to make exceptions for pregnant women who report being the victims of rape or incest, though it makes no such accommodation for women who know their fetus has birth defects. An amendment that would have required insurance carriers to foot the cost of the now-compulsory ultrasound examinations was defeated.
Reaction from women’s health groups was swift and damning. In a press release moments after the vote was taken, Tarina Keene, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia said the ultrasound bill is an “unprecedented invasion into the living rooms and doctors’ offices of Virginia women and clearly interferes with the doctor-patient relationship.” Keene also promised her organization will not let this bill go by lightly.
“Women will hold them accountable for this government overreach into their private decisions and their constitutional rights,” she said.
The Virginia House of Delegates, which last week passed the original form of the utlrasound bill, must clear the amended measure before McDonnell can sign it.
