Kentucky Ultrasound Bill (SB 8)

SB 8 would have required a physician to perform an obstetric ultrasound prior to a woman giving her informed consent to have an abortion.

The bill states that the physician must give the woman a detailed description of the fetus and provide medical descriptions of the ultrasound images.  The bill further states that the doctor would be required to display the images so the woman can see them, but that she would not be required to actually look. The patient would still have to sit and listen to the descriptions of the images.

The bill provides that if a doctor fails to comply, they could face a fine up to $100,000 for the first offense and up to $250,000 for each subsequent offense and that violators would also be reported to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

STATUS

SB 8 passed the Senate 33-5 on February 5, 2014 and was sent to the House.  The bill was sent to the Health and Welfare Committee where it died in chamber.

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