RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The Virginia Senate Tuesday passed a bill that would force women to have an ultrasound before seeking an abortion with the exception of rape and incest victims.
Voting 21-19, the Senate passed the legislation, which had to be sent back to the House of Delegates for approval because of an amendment exempting victims of rape or incest who report the attack, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
An earlier version of House Bill 462, sponsored by Del. Kathy J. Byron, R-Campbell, garnered national attention for requiring women to undergo a trans-vaginal ultrasound, which critics argued was invasive and medically unnecessary.
"Senators, we don't know what we're doing," said Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico. "We should leave the practice of medicine to doctors."
Other Democrat-sponsored amendments to the legislation -- making ultrasounds optional and requiring insurance companies or the state to pay for the procedure -- were denied, the newspaper said.
The Senate also struck down a bill that would have seen public funding cut for low-income women seeking abortions for fetuses that have incapacitating or mortal deformations.
"I think it's a step in the right direction," said Sen. Ralph S. Northam, D-Norfolk. "It was one of the cruelest and most inhumane pieces of legislation to come along since I've been here. To tell a pregnant woman and her husband that they must carry a baby that's non-viable to term is just cruel."
