Va. Gov. signs pre-abortion ultrasound bill

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed a contentious bill mandating women who want an abortion get an ultrasound before the procedure.

Los Angeles Times: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell Signs Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Bill
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed into law a controversial bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion. The bill sparked a national furor among abortion rights activists who argued that the intent was to make it more costly and more difficult for women to receive abortions. The bill ... is a watered-down version of an earlier bill that would have required women to undergo a trans-vaginal ultrasound (Geiger, 3/7).

The Associated Press: Va. Governor Signs Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Bill
The Republican governor's signature means the mandate takes effect in July for abortion providers across Virginia. The bill not only sparked protests the past three weeks by angry women's rights groups and others that led to 30 arrests at the Capitol Saturday, it subjected Virginia to scorn by columnists and political talk shows and ridicule from television comedians (Lewis, 3/7).

Stateline: Abortion Ultrasound Debate Intensifies
Virginia has grabbed national headlines over its plan to require every woman seeking an abortion get an ultrasound, but it's not the first or only state taking up such a proposal. States started discussing whether to require ultrasounds before abortions back in the 1990s and began enacting laws a decade ago (Prah, 3/8).