skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

TN Lawmakers Set to Debate New 'Ultrasound Bill'

play audio
Play

Monday, February 8, 2016   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Women in Tennessee would be forced to consider viewing an ultrasound picture of their fetus before receiving an abortion, if a bill before a state House subcommittee is ultimately passed.

The Ultrasound Right to Know Act also would require women to sign a form saying they were offered the ability to hear their fetus' heartbeat and see its image before an abortion is performed.

Currently, abortion providers typically require ultrasounds before every abortion, but Jeff Teague, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee, says it's between a woman and her doctor whether the results are reviewed before the procedure.

"This bill would prescribe the standard of care,” he points out. “That interferes in the doctor-patient relationship and really ties the doctor's hands to decide what is the best course of treatment and standard of care when dealing with a patient."

The House Health Subcommittee will consider the bill on Tuesday. Similar legislation was proposed last year.

Half of all states have some provision regulating abortions and ultrasounds, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy and research organization. But it says only three states mandate that a woman receive an ultrasound and see the image before the procedure is performed.

Supporters of such legislation say it is needed to protect the rights of the unborn child.

Teague says the bill violates the rights of women and interferes with a private and personal matter.

"The intention of the bill is not to provide women with any additional information, to give them any more information that will help them make really informed decisions, but instead is designed to demean and shame women," he maintains.

According to RH Reality Check, a reproductive and sexual health advocacy site, there have been 147 “anti-choice” bills introduced in state legislatures so far this year, and at least 69 percent of them were sponsored by men.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021