Sonograms: A Powerful Abortion Deterrent

By Charlene Israel

CBN News

March 21, 2007

CBNNews.com - Sonograms are becoming the latest weapon in the fight for life.

Abortion opponents say images of a tiny baby in the womb make women think twice.

"The heart is beating. The baby is there. It speaks for itself," said one woman.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers across the country have been using ultrasound machines for years.

Heartbeat International reports that up to 80 percent of its patients who are considering an abortion end up deciding against it, after seeing their babies on a sonogram.

Carla Harvey works at one of those clinics. At age 18 she had an abortion. She doesn't want anyone else to make the same mistake.

"I didn't have the privilege of having an ultrasound and seeing the baby, to recognize yes, this is a baby," Carla said.

South Carolina would be the first state requiring women who want an abortion to get an ultrasound.

Republican Governor Mark Sanford hopes that this law lowers the number of abortions performed in his state.

But pro-choice advocates say that the bill takes power away from women who are trying to make an already difficult decision.

"I see it as emotional blackmail," said Representative Gilda Cobb Hunter. "Putting a guilt trip on a woman."

Some bioethicists agree, saying politicians should not tell doctors what to do.

George Annas, a professor of Health Law, and Bioethics at Boston University School of Public Health said, "We don't require people who are undergoing any surgical procedure to view models of what their heart looks like or what their stomach looks like before they are operated on."

But Governor Sanford says, "I believe life is sacred, and in the debate over when life begins, I believe that as a society we should always err on the side of life."

The ultrasound bill is expected to pass in both the House and the Senate.

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