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Texas sonogram law struck down
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| Contributor | Brandonius Maximus |
| Last Edited | Brandonius Maximus Aug 31, 2011 01:54pm |
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| Category | Legal Ruling |
| Author | REID J. EPSTEIN |
| News Date | Wednesday, August 31, 2011 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Texas cannot require women to view sonogram results 24 hours before undergoing an abortion, a federal judge in Austin ruled Tuesday.
The law, which would have taken effect Thursday, required physicians to describe in detail the size of the fetus and its organs and make available audio of any fetal heartbeat, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks, who was appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush, ruled those provisions violated the First Amendment by forcing doctors to engage in government-mandated speech.
“The Act’s onerous requirements will surely dissuade or prevent many competent doctors from performing abortions, making it significantly more difficult for pregnant women to obtain abortions,” Sparks wrote, according to the Houston Chronicle. “Forcing pregnant women to receive medical treatment from less-skilled providers certainly seems to be at odds with ‘protecting the physical and psychological health and well-being of pregnant women,’ one of the Act’s stated purposes.” |
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