A bill that would give a woman seeking an abortion the option to first view her ultrasound passed the Utah House on Friday.Before HB200 cleared the chamber in a 53-15 vote, Minority Leader David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, unsuccessfully attempted to amend the bill to delete language he believed to be flat-out false, referring to viewing the heartbeat of a fetus at three weeks.
"It is not medically accurate," Litvack said. "It's not possible. It does not exist."
Litvack read from a physician's e-mail that said you could expect to see embryonic cardiac activity at about six weeks from the woman's last period.
Rep. Carl Wimmer, the bill's sponsor, disputed Litvack's claim.
"There are arguments on both sides of the issue," Wimmer, R-Herriman, said.
Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, supported Litvack's amendment because of the added costs the bill would incur. Enactment of Wimmer's measure is projected to cost $7,000 in 2011, then $4,000 each year thereafter.
This makes me really uncomfortable, as it feels less like allowing women to hear the heartbeat and more like requiring them to, potentially by having to wait another 3 weeks before they can get an abortion. Where there really that many women asking to hear the fetus's heartbeat and being denied by their doctors? Couldn't that money be used more productively?
No comments:
Post a Comment