CAIRO: Texan doctors will now be required to subject all women seeking abortions to an ultrasound, in which women will need to see the image of the fetus, as well as a sonogram in which women will hear the sound of the fetal heartbeat played aloud. On Friday, an appeals court ruled that the procedures are not unconstitutional and do not infringe upon health practitioner's freedom of speech. Women have the option to refuse to see the ultrasound image, however they are required to hear the features of the fetus described aloud, up to 24 hours before the abortion procedure. Exceptions are made in the case of rape, incest, fetal deformities and for women who have to travel great distances to reach a doctor. “This court order means that the Texas sonogram law is to be enforced effective immediately, as it should be,” said Jonathan Saenz, the legislative director of the Liberty Institute. Because the legislation is going into force immediately, there is no time for doctors to attempt to appeal the move. Advocates of reproductive rights have described the move as an infringement on the freedom of speech, as it will require abortion doctors to say something they may disagree with. Pharmacists and doctors maintain the right to deny medication or services to a patient if doing so would violate their “conscience,” yet practitioners are not given the right to refuse these new procedures on the same grounds. Six other US states require doctors to perform an ultrasound on their patients, offering them the opportunity to see the image. However, Texas is the only state in which women will be required to hear a description of the features of the fetus. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/rkpzR Tags: Abortion, Texas Section: Health, Human Rights, Latest News, North America, Women
