Virginia Bill Amending Forced Ultrasound Law 2013 (HB 1776)

HB 1776 would have amended Virginia’s informed consent law (Va. Code § 18.2-76), which requires that at least 24 hours prior to the abortion, a doctor perform a fetal transabdominal ultrasound on the patient undergoing the abortion unless the woman lives 100 or more miles from the closest abortion provider, in which case the ultrasound must be performed at least two hours prior to the abortion.

The bill would have eliminated the requirement to perform an ultrasound if in the physician’s reasonable judgment, an ultrasound is not necessary, and would have eliminated a physician’s civil penalty for failure to perform an ultrasound if in his or her reasonable judgment, an ultrasound is not medically necessary.

STATUS

Identical to HB 547, which failed to pass in 2014.

People