Florida House votes to require ultrasound before all abortions

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida House on Wednesday mounted what critics called a two-pronged assault on abortion rights, passing legislation that would require pregnant women to undergo ultrasound exams before getting abortions and effectively defining life at conception for criminal prosecutions.
Any woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy would be required to pay for an ultrasound procedure — and view the results unless she signed a waiver — before having the abortion, under a bill passed by the House largely along party lines.

The Republican-led chamber also endorsed a "fetal homicide" bill that would create a separate murder charge for anyone who caused a pregnancy to be terminated through an act of violence against a pregnant woman. It defines an "unborn child" as a fetus at any stage of development, beginning at conception.

.....

The House's ultrasound requirement (HB257) would require pregnant women to pay for the scans as part of their abortion procedures. Costs for the tests can range widely, but are often a few hundred dollars, according to expert testimony.
Ultrasound scans already are required for women seeking abortions in their second and third trimesters; the bill expands the requirement to include early-term pregnancies. .....
The emotionally charged debate prompted House Speaker Marco Rubio, R- West Miami, to warn groups of grade-school children watching from the gallery of the adult content.
The ultrasound bill passed on a 70-45 vote and now goes to the Senate, where it has yet to get a committee hearing. However, the anti-abortion effort has a powerful ally in Senate Majority Leader Dan Webster, R- Winter Garden, who has sponsored a companion bill and said Wednesday he assumes it will get a floor vote before the session adjourns May 2.

.....

If the "fetal homicide" bill passed the Senate and became law, anyone who caused a pregnancy to be terminated by assaulting or killing a woman could be prosecuted for murdering the "unborn child" — even if they didn't know the woman was pregnant.
The bill also would apply to drunken drivers, who could be charged with vehicular homicide for causing a pregnancy to be terminated in a car accident.
Under current law, a separate murder charge applies only if the fetus is considered viable, which is defined as "capable of meaningful life outside the womb through standard medical measures." That viable fetus standard is changed to "unborn child" at any stage of development.

"It elevates a fetus and an egg, frankly, to the status of an adult person," said Adrienne Kimmell, executive director of Florida's Planned Parenthood affiliates. "The purpose of this bill is to create tension with Roe vs. Wade. It's a chipping-away strategy we've seen for years now."

.....