**PLEASE NOTE THIS ARTICLE IS FROM 2008, AND MAY NO LONGER BE CURRENT IF THE LAW HAS SINCE BEEN REVISED**
Two bills submitted to the Texas Legislature Tuesday would force doctors to show women ultrasounds of their unborn children two hours before they had an abortion.
The identical bills, one submitted to the Texas House, as HB 36, and one to the Senate, as SB 182, were introduced by Rep. Frank Corte Jr., R-San Antonio, and Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, respectively. They outline the changes in procedures doctors would have to go through when a woman opts to abort her child.
Most significantly, the bills would force doctors to perform an ultrasound on the woman and display the image of her fetus to her, explaining the size of the embryo or fetus and outlining the presence of any internal organs. The doctor would also have to play the fetus’s heartbeat for the woman.
Before the abortion, a doctor would have to provide the woman written documents that outlined alternatives to an abortion, including information about places to get free ultrasounds, information on child support payments and a list of adoption agencies. The bill specifically says the information cannot include any agencies that provide abortion services.
Pro life advocates are in favor of the bill.
"We have women who come to us saying 'If I had known this was a baby with fingers and toes…' They wished they would have known that before the abortion," Joe Pojman with the Texas Alliance for Life says.
But Sara Cleveland with NARAL/Pro Choice of Texas says, "This exists to intimidate women into opting out of abortion. This is intended to take them during an emotional state and play on emotions and try and impact their decision."
Eleven states have similar laws in place including Oklahoma and Louisiana.
During the last legislative session, the same bill passed through the Senate but died in the House.
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