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Eye On Boise

Pre-abortion ultrasound bill could require costly second ultrasound for women

A quirk of SB 1349, the controversial measure to require Idaho women to undergo an ultrasound before they could have an abortion, could mean substantial costs to the women involved, and could require some to undergo two ultrasounds, the Twin Falls Times-News reports in a Sunday story; you can read the full report here from reporter Melissa Davlin.

When Senate Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Winder, R-Meridian, introduced the measure, he said any concerns about costs for the women would be offset by a requirement in the bill that they be given lists of free providers of ultrasounds in Idaho. But those free providers, mostly crisis pregnancy centers, wouldn't count for the bill's ultrasound requirement, which requires the procedure to be conducted by the abortion provider or an agent of the provider. So any woman who went to one of those and still decided to go through with an abortion would have to have another ultrasound, at a typical cost of $186.

The bill is up for a hearing tomorrow at 8 a.m. in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
 



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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