S.C. House OKs abortion ultrasound bill

COLUMBIA (AP) – Women seeking abortions in South Carolina would have to see ultrasound images of their fetuses under a measure that received key approval from lawmakers Wednesday.

The Republican-dominated House passed the proposal 91-23 after a contentious debate that included the defeat of two amendments that would have exempted victims of rape or incest from having to view the images.

"Are you saying God makes mistakes with the lives he creates?" said state Rep. Greg Delleney, the bill's chief sponsor.

The measure would be the first law of its kind in the nation. Some states make ultrasound images available to women before an abortion, but South Carolina would be alone in mandating women see the pictures.

Proponents hope women will change their minds after seeing an ultrasound and choose instead to keep the child or offer it for adoption. Critics consider the proposal a tool to intimidate women who already have made an agonizing decision.

"You're sitting here passing judgment? Who gave you the right?" said state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, who opposed the measure.

State Rep. Alan Clemmons, choking back tears as he talked about his two adopted children, recalled a prayer given by his 11-year-old daughter.

"She thanked her God, her Father in heaven for her birth mother for loving her enough to give her life," said Clemmons, a Myrtle Beach Republican. "I thank my God for those young mothers who chose to give them life."

To become law, the measure will again have to be approved by the House during what is usually a routine vote, which could come as early as Thursday. Then the bill moves to the GOP-controlled Senate, where co-sponsor state Sen. Mike Fair, R-Greenville, expects it to pass with an exemption for victims of rape or incest because those cases would be very rare.

If the bill is changed, a committee of House members and senators would have to work out the differences before it could be sent to Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, who supports it.

The state's three abortion clinics already perform ultrasounds, paid for by the woman seeking abortions, to determine a fetus' age. Under the measure, women would have to sign a form verifying they have seen the images.

The state already has an informed-consent law, which requires abortion doctors to tell women the likely age of their fetus and give them information about fetal development and alternatives to abortion. Women must have at least an hour to consider that information before terminating a pregnancy which, in South Carolina, can only be done in the first trimester.

Some 23 Democrats voted in favor of the bill and two Republicans voted against it, but the exemption for incest and rape victims sparked some emotional debate.

"It comes down to basic human dignity," said state Rep. Doug Jennings, an anti-abortion Democrat. "What if we made the families of murder victims go back and view all the evidence of murder, walk through the crime scene to make a decision on capital punishment or life?"

House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island, questioned whether the exemption would have created an "enormous loophole" for women to lie about being raped so they could avoid looking at the ultrasound images. One Democrat, a former prosecutor, said the assertion was misguided because many women fail to come forward to report being raped.

"You will have all the verification you can possibly stand when you see the terror in that woman's face," said state Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston,