The Virginia Senate has passed a repeal of its law mandating medically unnecessary ultrasounds before abortions, which went into effect last year. The Democrat-controlled Senate was in a 20-20 tie, until Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam voted for the repeal. It will now be considered by the Republican-dominated state House.
Virginia’s then-Republican-controlled Senate had originally attempted to require transvaginal ultrasounds, an invasive procedure, but after receiving a backlash from activists and the media, it decided to modify the bill to require only abdominal ultrasounds. During the early stages of pregnancy, however, there was little for a doctor to see, so the test was considered useless.
Sen. Dick Saslaw, representing the 35th district of Virginia, said during the repeal hearing:
It is nobody’s damn business who gets an abortion except for the woman seeking it and the doctor she asks to care for her.
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