South Carolina Governor Officially Signs Abortion-Ultrasound Measure

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   May 30, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

South Carolina Governor Officially Signs Abortion-Ultrasound Measure

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 30
, 2008

Columbia, SC (LifeNews.com) — Just one day after South Carolina residents received good news that Choose Life license plates are on the way, Gov. Mark Sanford on Thursday signed a pro-life bill into law. The legislation allows women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before the abortion.

When used in pregnancy centers, such ultrasounds persuade as many as 70-80 percent of women to keep their baby rather than follow through with an abortion.

Sanford had a signing ceremony on May 15 and officially signed the bill yesterday.

One leading pro-life attorney, Mary Spaulding Balch of National Right to Life, says states enacting ultrasound laws are furthering the cause of reducing abortions as much as possible until the day comes unborn children are protected fully under law.

"They are doing everything possible to ensure that a mother is given the opportunity to see her unborn child in real-time and learn all the facts before making the life and death decision of abortion," she told LifeNews.com. "Simply put, the abortion decision cannot be undone. Women deserve all the facts."

"We will continue to work and urge other states to pass similar legislation that seeks to protect mothers and their unborn children," Balch added.
Under the measure, abortion practitioners are required to tell women they have a right to see the ultrasound one hour before the abortion. When used in crisis pregnancy centers, ultrasounds prompt most women to keep their baby.

"South Carolina becomes the 18th state with legislation giving the mother the option to view the ultrasound of her unborn child before an abortion," South Carolina Citizens for Life director Holly Gatling told LifeNews.com.

Only South Carolina and Oklahoma require the one-hour waiting period after the ultrasound to give women a chance to reflect on the information without feeling pressured to continue with the abortion.

In South Carolina an ultrasound is mandatory if the baby’s gestational age is estimated to be 14 weeks or older or is unknown, according to state regulations. The ultrasound remains optional before 14 weeks of pregnancy.

"In all cases the woman must be informed of her right to view the image of her unborn child," Gatling explains.

ACTION: Contact Governor Sanford and thank him for signing the abortion-ultrasound bill. You can send an email online by going to https://www.scgovernor.com/contact/email

Related web sites:
South Carolina Governor – https://www.scgovernor.com
South Carolina Citizens for Life – https://www.sclife.org
South Carolina legislature – https://www.scstatehouse.net