In North Carolina, lawmakers in the House voted to override the governor’s veto of a controversial legislation that mandate an ultrasound before an abortion. The legislation would also require physicians to follow a script before performing an abortion.

The Abortion-Woman’s Right to Know Act was vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue in June. The act stated that doctors give a woman an ultrasound prior to the abortion procedure. The abortion physician must also describe the fetus in detail, including the size of the organs and limbs whether the patient wants to hear the description or not.

If the patient refuses to view the ultrasound image or listen to the fetal heartbeat, the doctor must record the patient’s name and keeps it on file for seven years. So much for patient privacy, eh? The bill also requires patients to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion.

“Physicians must be free to advise and treat their patients based on their medical knowledge and expertise and not have their advice overridden by elected officials seeking to impose their own ideological agenda on others,” wrote Gov. Perdue in her June 27 veto note.

Proponents of the bill state that the legislation could potentially save thousands of unborn lives each year by making a woman aware of the consequences of her abortion. But Dr. Amy Bryant, a North Carolina gynecologist who provides abortions on a weekly basis, says the law’s only function would be to place an undue emotional burden on patients.

“I’ve never heard of the ultrasound actually changing someone’s mind,” she said. “Once they’ve made the decision that this is the right thing for them and their families, that’s what they’re gonna do. If you try to coerce women to hear these things or see the ultrasound or hear that there are fetal abnormalities, it’s only going to be more distressing for them. I can’t imagine how it would help.”

After intense floor debates, the North Carolina House of Representatives overrode Perdue’s veto by a vote of 72-47 on Tuesday.

“I’m not supportive of it and I don’t envision myself changing that position,” said Sen. Stan Bingham (R-Davidson), the one Republican who voted against the measure (the other, Sen. Richard Stevens (R-Wake), didn’t vote). “I just really am troubled by the fact that the government is involved in something as directly related to someone’s personal life as abortion, and I feel hypocritical in voting to support this because I’ve always raised my four daughters to make these kinds of decisions on their own.”

Bingham also stated that he questioned some of the information that Republicans have been using about abortions during the debates.  “There’s a lot of non-facts in some of the things that have been said — they make it sound like you go in to get a hamburger and you have an abortion, without any medical exams, no check-ups, no discussion,” he said. “But the medical society strongly disagrees with this, and my daughter is a physician and she strongly disagrees with this too. So I’m trying to be open-minded.”

The senate narrowly passed the override on Thursday. Sen. Bingham was not present to vote. Because of a procedural move, Bingham was allowed to walk away from the vote.  Sen. Stevens also had an excused absence for the entire week of the special session.

Unlike Stevens, Bingham was in his seat when the Senate convened on Thursday morning. Less than an hour later, after a GOP caucus meeting, he was granted an excused absence and left the building.

Bingham’s departure left the Senate with 48 members present instead of 50, a change that allowed Senate Republicans to override the governor’s veto of H854 with the 29 votes they could muster, instead of the usual 30.

“I did not ask him not to be here,” Senate Leader Phil Berger said. “Senator Bingham has been very clear as to his position on that particular issue. I respect his view on that, and based on the views of the members of the caucus as a whole, other than him, he made a decision.”

“My understanding is that he had some business that needed to be taken care of elsewhere as well,” Berger added.

Bingham’s departure left the Senate with 48 members present instead of 50, a change that allowed Senate Republicans to override the governor’s veto of H854 with the 29 votes they could muster, instead of the usual 30.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bev-Perdue/11552180685

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

Erin Chavez
Erin Whitney-Chavez has been writing professionally since 2009. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from St. Bonaventure University and received a Master of Arts in mental-health counseling from Argosy University. Erin Whitney-Chavez is a licensed mental health counselor and has worked in the mental-health field for more than 10 years.

Related Posts

Femicide: How Long Before the Voices Are Heard?

Femicide. When one types this word in a Microsoft Office program, it appears as a spelling error. Yet in light of recent statistics, it becomes paradoxical to consider how state powers confront this escalating problem in such...

American RTL Launches RepublicansAgainstRomney.com

Denver, U.S.A. -- "Mitt Romney is the architect of Obamacare," said Jefferson George, president of the conservative tax-exempt group American Right To Life Action. "Romney has already implemented what Barack Obama and Hillary...

Todd Akin’s Comments on ‘Legitimate’ Rape Spark Condemnation

Todd Akin, a Republican running for Congress in Missouri, recently said that according to his knowledge as he’d heard it from doctors, the female body has ways to shut down a pregnancy if a rape wasn’t ‘legitimate.'...