Even before state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, tweaked a bill requiring a woman seeking an abortion have a sonogram performed, he said lawmakers and the media misunderstood his intent. Today before the Senate State Affairs Committee, he says he is getting his chance to clear things up.
Patrick, who admits he is adamantly pro-life and would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned, said the bill is first and foremost about a woman’s right to know. Requiring the sonogram, he said, is about informing the woman about the risks and what the procedure entails. Patrick likened it to taking an X-ray before a broken leg is operated on.
As originally filed, SB 16 would require doctors to perform a sonogram, explain the procedure as it’s performed and require a woman see the image and hear the heartbeat. The bill contained language that allowed a woman to “avert her eyes” if she so chose. A committee substitute introduced this morning, however, amends that language and provides the option for the patient to refuse seeing and hearing the sonogram altogether.
