Respecting Choice is an informative and persuasive blog geared by the 82nd Texas legislative session. We focus on women's healthcare issues in the current political climate. This includes access to maternity rights, reproductive rights, and the policies that shape a woman's access to healthcare. This blog aims to alert the reader to current bills, activities, lobby efforts, scholarly articles, and news reports that impact the state of women's healthcare in Texas. This comprehensive assessment hopes to inspire the reader to discover his or her own voice in the midst of competing interests.

We respect the choice for women to access adequate healthcare if so desired. We also respect the reader's choice to form their own opinions. Therefore, please comment on our postings to share your ideas about these topic. We have included links to state representatives with background reports and analysis. We hope you pursue this opportunity to become more involved with the political process, however you see fit.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

House Bill 15

Living in the state capitol, you may have heard of "The Sonogram Bill" in some way or another.  But what is it?  What's all the hype about?  And what's happening with the bill now?

H.B. 15 is a bill proposed by Sid Miller early in 2011.  This bill calls for a stringent sonogram protocol to be followed in all cases of women seeking abortions.  There has been much debate over the provisions in H.B. 15 over the past months; some claim that they are necessary steps to be taken to decrease Texas abortion rates, while others find the bill a literal and metaphorical invasion of human rights.  

Most recently, on April 12, 2011, a new version of H.B. 15 was passed by the Senate State Affairs Committee--Committee Substituted House Bill (CSHB) 15.  The differences between the two versions of the bill are illustrated in the table below. They may seem slight, but they still greatly impact a woman's rights when considering to receive abortion services.  Some pro-life organizations are content with the provisions described in CSHB 15, but still others prefer the harsher H.B. 15 requirements.

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