A new abortion bill proposed by the House of Representatives would give pregnant women the option to hear the fetus’ heartbeat before having an abortion.
House Bill 182 would require physicians and nurses to inform the woman that she has a right to an ultrasound and to hear the heartbeat 24 hours prior to the abortion.
“The bill ensures that women have the opportunity to view an ultrasound if they wish,” Chuck Gray, a Republican representative from Casper and author of the bill, said. “It’s an option.”
The bill will not apply to medical emergency procedures that are intended to save the life of the pregnant woman.
The woman would have to sign a document stating that she was given the choice to see the ultrasound and hear the heartbeat. The statement will then be placed into the woman’s sealed medical records.
Gray said he sees the bill as a positive for women in Wyoming.
“This bill would enhance a woman’s rights by providing an opportunity to view an ultrasound,” he said. “The bill provides a choice.”
McKenna Hauschild, senior and former Vice President of Students for Life, supports the bill.
“We are in support of the bill,” Hauschild said. “Working with Heart to Heart, the local pregnancy center, we just know that it is important for a woman to see that image, hear that heartbeat and know that what they have inside of them is a baby. It’s not a faceless fetus.”
Hauschild said she agrees that HB 182 provides an option for women.
“I’ve heard a lot of people get confused, they’re saying that this is unfair for physicians because it’s forcing their patients to do this,” she said. “Or it’s unfair for the woman to see this ultrasound.”
Hauschild said she has been looking at both points of view concerning the bill and sees it as giving women more options when they are deciding to have an abortion or not.
“Honestly, I’ve tried to take a step back and look at it from both points of views,” Hauschild said. “Even for those people who are pro-choice, I feel they should look at it in terms of being helpful because if they are pro-women, I feel that women should get all the information and all the options.”
Not everyone interprets the bill in the same way as Hauschild and Gray.
“It’s one more barrier in the way of women receiving the medical service that they need and want,” Christine Lichenfels, director of Women for Women, said. “Every time there is yet another requirement or limitation put in the way, that reduces the possibility of other doctors being able to provide that service,”
Women for Women is a Wyoming non-profit organization that gives women the resources they need to have an abortion in the state.
In Wyoming, there are two abortion providers in Jackson: Emerg-A-Care and Women’s Health and Family Care. These providers, however, will not offer abortion services after 12 weeks of pregnancy, Lichenfels said.
“It’s just another example of the paternalism, that there aren’t other medical procedures where the government is inserting itself between the doctor and patient saying ‘you will do this and you will do this,’” she said.
