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For immediate release:
For
more information:
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Jessica Rodgers, (202) 626-8825
FIFTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ALLOWS
TEXAS SONOGRAM LAW TO GO INTO EFFECT
WASHINGTON – Today, a three-judge panel
of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals lifted the
preliminary injunction on the Texas Sonogram Law on the
grounds that the plaintiff did not have a likelihood of
winning their argument. The Texas Sonogram Law, that was
passed last year with the support of National Right to
Life’s affiliate, Texas Right to Life, ensures that
abortionists display an ultrasound image of the unborn
child for the mother to view before an abortion
decision. Abortionists are further required to allow
mothers to hear the child’s heartbeat, and provide
information about the development of the unborn baby.
“This
breakthrough decision from the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals recognizes, in the words of the Court, ‘the
physicians obligations to display the sonogram
images’ of the unborn child before an abortion,”
said Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D., director of state
legislation for National Right to Life.
“In practice, an
ultrasound law that does not require the ultrasound to
be displayed can become almost meaningless because
virtually every abortion facility will slip a waiver
form into the stack of papers mothers are asked to
sign.”
In addition to Texas, both North Carolina
and Oklahoma have also passed measures requiring an
abortionist display an ultrasound image of the unborn
child before an abortion. Both laws have been
challenged.
Writing the decision for the court, Chief
Judge Edith Jones clearly laid out the responsibility of
the abortion provider: “The
woman seeking an abortion may elect not to receive these
images, sounds, or explanations. This election does not
obviate the physician’s obligations to display
the sonogram images or make audible the heart
auscultation; the woman may simply choose not to look or
listen.”
Added Balch,
“We commend the
work of Texas Right to Life for their hard work in
ensuring that the abortionist must display the
ultrasound image of the unborn child for the mother.
Today, their tireless efforts have paid off, and we are
so pleased by this success.”
Founded in 1968, the National Right to
Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state
right-to-life affiliates and more than 3,000 local
chapters, is the nation's oldest and largest grassroots
pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the
pro-life movement, NRLC works through legislation and
education to protect innocent human life from abortion,
infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.
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