Life News-Woman Upset She Had to Listen to Her Baby’s Heartbeat Before Having an Abortion

In Australia, a woman claims that two doctors forced her to see an ultrasound of her unborn baby prior to an abortion. The Daily Mail reports that in a public service announcement she wrote, “They literally forced me and my partner to watch the ultrasound, pointed out the heartbeat and said ‘Sorry but it’s the law, we need to make sure you’re aware of the heartbeat and acknowledge it, it’s part of our job’.”

She added, “This was a lie. My partner and I were so upset by this that I put off the procedure that day as I felt too emotionally unstable to deal with it. I decided that I did not feel safe having the procedure at the hospital so I had to wait two more weeks (I’m now dangerously close to the cut off date for abortion) and I now have to pay almost $500 with no Medicare rebate and have to endure harassment from protesters at a private clinic. I was initially unsure about this conduct as I had had an abortion before but many years ago, so I did some research afterwards, and also spoke to women’s health professionals.”
Apparently, the woman is filing a complaint against the staff at the hospital because she doesn’t want other women to have to go through the same thing.

“Information about abortion is difficult to come by at the best of times thanks to pro-forced birth organizations masquerading as women’s health websites and the like. I have also been literally thrown out of a doctor’s office when asking for a referral for abortion,” she explained.
The past president of Reproductive Choice Australia, Leslie Cannold, said the hospital’s actions were wrong. She explained, “That is absolutely not part of the law. And to me, that sounds like a tactic one of the pro-life agencies would deploy. What she should be doing is filing a complaint about those doctors and they will be brought to task about falsely claiming that is the case.”
Although women are not required to see an ultrasound prior to an abortion, doctors are required to perform them so they can accurately perform the abortion. Currently, abortion is legal in Victoria, Australia between 5-12 weeks of pregnancy.
In the United States, 34 states have ultrasound laws in place, and these laws are critical because statistics show that 78% of pregnant women who see an ultrasound of their baby reject abortion. However, women are never forced to see an ultrasound of their unborn baby; they are simply given the option.
Mary Balch, the Legislative Director for National Right to Life, explained why ultrasound legislation is so important. She said, “Clearly, real-time ultrasound images of the unborn child are truthful, not misleading, and can lead to a more informed decision. Ultrasound is a window to the womb allowing the mother to view for herself what is inside her, seeing not opinion but objective and accurate fact.”