A Wyoming bill requiring that a woman receive a transvaginal ultrasound before receiving the abortion pill passed the state Senate on February 25 with a vote of 24-7.
House Bill 64, the “Chemical abortion ultrasound requirement” bill, stipulates that pregnant women are to receive a transvaginal ultrasound no less than 48 hours before receiving the chemical abortion pill. The ultrasound provider would be required to document the age, length, and head diameter of the preborn child, as well as offer the mother the opportunity to “view the fetal heart motion.” Violators would be charged with a misdemeanor, and face a maximum of six months imprisonment and/or up to a $9,000 fine.
Though Democratic lawmakers argued that the bill violates a constitutional law that says adults can make their own healthcare decisions, Sen. Lynn Hutchings defended the legislation. She noted that the state’s constitution allows legislators to “determine reasonable and necessary restrictions … to protect the health and general welfare of the people or to accomplish the other purposes set forth in the Wyoming Constitution.”
“I think it’s our right and desire to try to do everything we can to either stop it or make it as safe as possible,” Hutchings said of abortion.
READ: Woman describes harrowing abortion pill experience: ‘I nearly died’
The bill’s main sponsor, Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, had indicated that the bill was about protecting women from some of the risks of the abortion pill, while also ensuring that the mother had more “time to think about this.”
“To be completely transparent, I do want that little tiny person to have the opportunity to be seen once before its life has ended,” he said.
The bill passed the House in the beginning of February, but now needs to head back to that chamber for a concurrence vote on the Senate amendments, which changed the penalties for violating the law. If the House passes the bill with amendments, it will head to the desk of Governor Mark Gordon for signature.
