Virginia Senate passes revised ultrasound abortion law

PORTSMOUTH, Virginia (Reuters) - The Virginia state Senate on Tuesday approved a law forcing a woman to have an ultrasound before an abortion but left out a provision harshly criticized by women's rights groups that might have required a more intrusive vaginal probe.

The vaginal probe proposal sparked an outcry last week and embarrassed Virginia's Republican Governor Bob McDonnell, who is high on the list of possible 2012 Republican vice presidential candidates.

In a rare political stumble for the popular governor, McDonnell, a staunch abortion opponent, withdrew his support for the vaginal probe clause minutes before it was to be debated by the Virginia House of Delegates.

The vaginal probe issue had arisen because some doctors said a heartbeat could not be detected in the first trimester of pregnancy using an abdominal ultrasound.

The state Senate approved the weaker ultrasound law by a 21 to 19 vote on Tuesday with an exemption for women whose pregnancy resulting from rape or incest is reported to police. The House, which had already approved the ultrasound law, will now consider the Senate amendments and then could send the proposed law to McDonnell for his signature.

The bill approved by the Senate would offer, rather than require, a woman undergo an additional invasive procedure such as a vaginal probe if the mandatory abdominal ultrasound fails to determine the age of the fetus.

Some female Democratic senators said the ultrasound bill was demeaning to women and that women would seek back alley abortions rather than endure the procedure.

"Women will die," said Senator L. Louise Lucas.

The Virginia measure also requires that the woman seeking an abortion be offered the chance to see the fetal image, and that a copy of the image would be in the woman's medical record at the abortion facility for seven years.

Six other states have passed laws requiring abortion providers to perform ultrasounds, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health issues.

While most of those states allow women to decline to view the image, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina require women to hear the provider's verbal description of the ultrasound.

The laws in Oklahoma and North Carolina have been challenged in court but an appeals court cleared the way for Texas to begin enforcing its law in January.

McDonnell's spokesman Jeff Caldwell said in an email to Reuters after the Senate vote that the governor, "looks forward to approving a common-sense ultrasound measure."

(Editing by Greg McCune)

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Virginia Senate passes revised ultrasound abortion law

PORTSMOUTH, Virginia (Reuters) - The Virginia state Senate on Tuesday approved a law forcing a woman to have an ultrasound before an abortion but left out a provision harshly criticized by women's rights groups that might have required a more intrusive vaginal probe.

The vaginal probe proposal sparked an outcry last week and embarrassed Virginia's Republican Governor Bob McDonnell, who is high on the list of possible 2012 Republican vice presidential candidates.

In a rare political stumble for the popular governor, McDonnell, a staunch abortion opponent, withdrew his support for the vaginal probe clause minutes before it was to be debated by the Virginia House of Delegates.

The vaginal probe issue had arisen because some doctors said a heartbeat could not be detected in the first trimester of pregnancy using an abdominal ultrasound.

The state Senate approved the weaker ultrasound law by a 21 to 19 vote on Tuesday with an exemption for women whose pregnancy resulting from rape or incest is reported to police. The House, which had already approved the ultrasound law, will now consider the Senate amendments and then could send the proposed law to McDonnell for his signature.

The bill approved by the Senate would offer, rather than require, a woman undergo an additional invasive procedure such as a vaginal probe if the mandatory abdominal ultrasound fails to determine the age of the fetus.

Some female Democratic senators said the ultrasound bill was demeaning to women and that women would seek back alley abortions rather than endure the procedure.

"Women will die," said Senator L. Louise Lucas.

The Virginia measure also requires that the woman seeking an abortion be offered the chance to see the fetal image, and that a copy of the image would be in the woman's medical record at the abortion facility for seven years.

Six other states have passed laws requiring abortion providers to perform ultrasounds, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health issues.

While most of those states allow women to decline to view the image, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina require women to hear the provider's verbal description of the ultrasound.

The laws in Oklahoma and North Carolina have been challenged in court but an appeals court cleared the way for Texas to begin enforcing its law in January.

McDonnell's spokesman Jeff Caldwell said in an email to Reuters after the Senate vote that the governor, "looks forward to approving a common-sense ultrasound measure."

(Editing by Greg McCune)

View the original article here

Virginia repeals one-a-month limit on handgun purchases

PORTSMOUTH, Virginia (Reuters) - Virginia repealed a one-per-month limit on handgun purchases on Tuesday, less than five years after a mentally-deranged student used handguns to massacre 32 people at Virginia Tech University in the worst single act of gun violence in U.S. history.

Governor Bob McDonnell, who is high on the list of possible 2012 Republican vice presidential candidates, signed the controversial legislation into law.

The limit had been on the books since 1993, when it was enacted in an effort to curb gun-smuggling operations. Virginia had a reputation as a state where gunrunners could arrange to purchase a volume of guns to sell on the streets of cities such as Washington, D.C. and New York.

Earlier this month, the state Senate voted 21-19 and the House of Delegates voted 66-32 to repeal the limit.

Supporters of the repeal said lifting the limit would bring Virginia into line with the majority of states. California, Maryland and New Jersey are the only others with such handgun purchasing limits, Republican Senator Charles Carrico Sr said.

Opponents worry about an increase in gun violence.

McDonnell signed the Virginia repeal law one day after a high school student opened fire at an Ohio school, killing three students and wounding two others. The shooting focused attention on gun violence in the United States.

The gun limit repeal is the latest of a raft of conservative measures the Virginia legislature has passed this year. They include requiring an ultrasound before a woman can have an abortion, a voter ID law opposed by Democrats and minority voters, and a proposal to allow citizens to use deadly force against any home invader.

(Editing by Greg McCune)

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