Pre-abortion ultrasound scans

Another hat-tip (or maybe twitch of the mantilla?) to Annie at The Arundel & Brighton Latin Mass Society blog who draws attention to this report from the Telegraph.  The state of Texas is enforcing a law which requires doctors to show a mother an ultrasound of her foetus before proceeding with an abortion (or as the Telegraph rather loadedly titles its article, "Texas forces mothers seeking abortions to view image of unborn child"). 

Of course various rights groups are up in arms about this, with US Federal Judge Sam Sparks (who originally blocked the law until it went to appeals court) stating, "There can be little doubt that (the law) is an attempt by the Texas Legislature to discourage women from exercising their constitutional rights by making it more difficult for caring and competent physicians to perform abortions."  But hey, if abortion is so OK and straighforward and legal, what's the problem with the ultrasound?  Annie quotes "Nigella" who comments, "Why is everyone so 'shocked and appalled'? You are shown the xrays when you break your leg; if abortion's so easy, common place, risk and consequence free, and run of the mill, and you have free choice, why complain about being shown an ultrasound of your baby before the abortion?"

I was cheered however when I took part in the poll on the Telegraph page in which readers were invited to vote for whether or not doctors should be required to show a woman pictures of her unborn foetus before she can have an abortion.  72.32% agreed they should, with only 27.68% saying "no".  (Why not pop over and vote yourself.) Maybe the results would have been a bit different if the readership of a paper followed by a different political demographic had been polled, but even so.

If seeing an ultrasound makes a difference to a woman's choice, then that choice was not originally a fully informed one.  Measures like this blow apart all the double-speak and brushing under the carpet which the abortion industry depends on - by showing the simple, tangible truth.  Way to go, Texas!