Pros of Mandatory Ultrasounds Before Abortion

Pros of mandatory ultra sounds before abortions:

Deciding to abort an unborn fetus, could be one of the most difficult decisions that some women will ever make. Some decisions to terminate a pregnancy are made within the first moments of discovering the pregnancy. Without considering all of the alternatives of preserving life, some women immediately schedule an appointment and abort the fetus. If a woman who was unsure about her decision to terminate the pregnancy, mandating that detailed ultrasounds be given could help change her mind.

Oklahoma State Representative, Lisa Billy, wrote a bill that would require women to receive an ultrasound before the abortion is done. After years of hearing troubling, regretful stories of women who had aborted without taking the time to consider other options, she decided to take a stand. (USA Today, May 9, 2010.)

Project Ultrasound is an organization that educates about how viewing ultrasounds of unborn fetuses saves lives. The organization states that seventy - ninety percent of women that are considering an abortion change their mind after viewing the ultrasound. Pro-life groups see this law as a way of saving thousands of unborn baby's lives. As a testimony to their cause a young woman in Florida, who had gone to an abortion clinic told a television station that after viewing her baby on the screen, she could not go along with the procedure. Several groups and churches have begun offering ultrasound services to women who are undecided about what to do with their unintended pregnancy. There are even mobile ultrasound buses that will to the women who are in need of their services.

Having a mandatory ultrasound would put an image of the fetus in the mother's mind. Before that moment, the mother knows she is pregnant, but seeing an ultrasound could sometimes cause a change of heart for women who felt it would be impossible to have a child at this time. Seeing the baby's tiny body and possibly hearing a heartbeat would remind the mother of the human being that is waiting to be born instead of the choice of whether to keep or abort. The ultrasound sometimes could be the last deciding factor that a woman has on whether to keep or abort her baby.

Mandatory ultrasounds before an abortion could also be used as empowerment for women. In a state of helplessness some women do not know where else to turn. They feel as is if there is only one option, termination. Viewing their baby could be a means of connecting with the life inside of them. It could possibly assure them that their baby's life is really worth preserving. They might not be able to care for the baby themselves, but the can weigh other options.

There are some women who will not want to view or hear any details concerning the fetus. Legally they cannot be required to look at the ultrasound or listen to the heartbeat. At the same time, they will be fully informed