Medical Tuesday Blog
Kentucky allow women to see an ultrasound of their baby before it is killed Supreme Court Upholds Law Letting Women See Ultrasound of Their Baby Before Abortion BY STEVEN ERTELT | DEC 9, 2019
The Supreme Court has upheld a Kentucky law allowing women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn baby before having an abortion. Ultrasounds are generally done before abortionist to determine the age of the baby prior to the abortion, but abortion clinics normally don’t let women see their baby because they may change their mind after seeing their child. The nation’s highest court declined to take up a challenge to the law from abortion activists. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Kentucky’s only abortion clinic, EMW Women’s Surgical Center, had asked the courts to strike it down. The justices did not comment in refusing to review a federal appeals court ruling. In early 2017 the Kentucky legislature passed the bill and U.S. District Court Judge David Hale struck it down shortly thereafter. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin appealed Judge Hale’s ruling. In gutting the ultrasound law, which passed overwhelmingly, Judge Hale wrote, “The court recognizes that states have substantial interests in protecting fetal life and ensuring the psychological well-being and informed decision-making of pregnant women,” but added, “However, HB 2 does not advance those interests and impermissibly interferes with physicians’ First Amendment rights.” But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and refused to have the entire court reconsider a ruling by a three-judge panel that upheld the law. Earlier this year, judges, from the 6th Circuit, ruled 2-1 that the law did not violate a doctor’s First Amendment rights to free speech, writing that the information gleaned from an ultrasound was “pertinent” to a woman’s decision-making. “The information conveyed by an ultrasound image, its description, and the audible beating fetal heart gives a patient greater knowledge of the unborn life inside her,” wrote John Bush, a nominee of President Trump. “This also inherently provides the patient with more knowledge about the effect of an abortion procedure: it shows her what, or whom, she is consenting to terminate.” As the founder and Editor of LifeNews.com, Steven Ertelt has provided the pro-life community with news via the Internet since 1993. Read more at https://www.washingtontimes.com Feedback . . . * * * * * |
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