Va. lawmakers backdown from requiring invasive, pre-abortion ultrasound

Virginia lawmakers backed off a proposal Wednesday to require women seeking abortions get an transvaginal ultrasound after Gov. Bob McDonnell said he wouldn't support it. Virginia House lawmakers instead approved an amended bill requiring only an external ultrasound. 

The Associated Press: Va. House Scraps Invasive Pre-Abortion Requirement
Amid a public uproar that prompted Virginia's governor to withdraw his support, Republican legislators on Wednesday dropped a bitterly contested proposal to require that women seeking abortions undergo invasive ultrasound imaging, likely dooming the bill. The Republican-controlled House of Delegates voted 65-32 for an amended bill that requires only an external ultrasound, not the vaginal insertion of a wand-like device that emits ultrasonic waves that are used to create images of the fetus (Lewis, 2/22).

The Washington Post: McDonnell, Virginia Republicans Back Off Mandatory Invasive Ultrasounds
A controversial bill that would require women to get an ultrasound before an abortion is now in doubt after Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell diluted the measure Wednesday by making it optional in many cases (Kumar and Vozzella, 2/22).

Los Angeles Times: Virginia Governor Backs Off Requiring Ultrasound Before Abortion
Backing away from his support for a proposed law that would require women to submit to an invasive ultrasound before undergoing an abortion, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Wednesday asked the state Legislature to amend the bill to exclude the controversial requirement (Geiger, 2/22).

USA Today: Virginia Scraps Requiring Invasive Pre-Abortion Procedure
A Virginia bill that would have required women to undergo an invasive ultrasound before having an abortion failed Wednesday after Gov. Bob McDonnell withdrew his support (Leger, 2/23).

Politico: Bob McDonnell Won't Back Ultrasound Bill
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Wednesday said he would not support a controversial bill requiring women undergo an invasive ultrasound before having an abortion. "Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state. No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure," said McDonnell in a statement (Weinger, 2/22).