(Again, so that they understand the whole “abortion” thing.)Twelve states have an ultrasound-related requirement built into their abortion laws.20 This means that the doctor is required to perform an ultra- sound, and in some cases must ask the patient to view it. Disregard for the moment that an ultrasound requirement can add up to $200 to the already high cost of getting an abortion; what’s even more distressing is that this re- quirement assumes, yet again, that women don’t understand what an abor- tion is. And the reasoning behind the ultrasound requirement is definitely not coming from a place of informed consent. Its purpose is to shame women into thinking that if they really knew they were getting an abortion—”killing” a “separate” being—they wouldn’t have one.When Kansas senator Sam Brownback introduced the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act in 2007, which required women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound, he didn’t say he was concerned that women weren’t getting all the information they needed to make the best decision for themselves and their families.
