Claim: North Carolina ultrasound abortion law ruled illegal by judge.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: change in the people; this is a change in the leadership," he said". "An Oklahoma County judge has permanently blocked a state law that requires women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus before prior to the abortion. District Judge Brian Dixon handed down an order Wednesday ruling that the law is unconstitutional and unenforceable. The order says the statute passed in 2010 is an unconstitutional special law because it addresses only patients and physicians concerning abortions and not other medical care. Enforcement of the law has been blocked since shortly after

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: Oklahoma. North Carolina is the third state to require a provider to place ultrasound images in a woman's line of sight and to describe them in detail". Abortion has historically been a very emotionally charged and divisive issue. The issue tends to be very partisan and is typically a topic of debate in most elections. States have attempted to control and regulate the practice in varying ways stopping just short of banning the practice. The constitutionality of banning the procedure was heard in the U.S Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade. It was decided that criminalizing the practice was in

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: is the third state to approve a law requiring that a woman be shown an ultrasound before her abortion". "Barbara Holt, president of North Carolina Right to Life and a supporter of the new law, said the ultrasound requirement will help women make fully informed decisions."The ultrasound is a window into the womb and the opportunity for this mother to get scientifically accurate information about a procedure that is going to have great consequences for her and for her child. It's a life or death decision," Holt said. Supporters claim the law is an attempt to ensure that women are

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: Nova Health Systems, operator of Reproductive Services of Tulsa, challenged its constitutionality in May 2010. It would have forced a woman seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound, have the image placed in front of her and then hear it described in detail" Wisconsin has recently passed a similarly restrictive law entitled "The Coercive and Web Cam Abortion Prevention Act". "The law, which took effect on Friday, requires women visit a doctor at least three times before having a drug-induced abortion, forces physicians to determine whether women are being coerced into having an abortion and prohibits women and doctors from

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: Pledge of Allegiance and salute the flag, or compel people to display state mottoes on license plates". "She said the North Carolina abortion law "goes well beyond" requirements that patients give informed consent to medical procedures. The ultrasound provision could compel "an unwilling speaker to deliver visual and spoken messages to a listener who is not listening or looking," the judge wrote".". Aside from constitutional violations, groups against the law claim that it is simply a means of enforcing or advancing the ideologies of law makers."(The North Carolina law) turns doctors into mouthpieces for politicians' ideological message," said Bebe Anderson

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: her. Neither the physician nor the pregnant woman shall be subject to any penalty if she declines to look at the presented ultrasound images." Other sections in the Bill include, Procedure in case of medical emergency, informed consent for a minor, reporting requirements, civil remedies, protection of privacy in court proceedings, assurance of informed consent and consent is freely given and severability." The ratified version of NC House Bill 854 changed the "ultrasound requirement" to the "Display of real-time view requirement"." The passage of North Carolina House Bill 854 has faced a lot of opposition. Governor Bev Perdue was among

title: Catherine Eagles
text: charged with campaign finance violations. In January 2014, she struck down as unconstitutional a North Carolina law, similar to one ruled unconstitutional in Oklahoma, that would have required doctors and other authorized health care providers to perform an ultrasound, with the image placed in the woman's line of sight and describe the image to the woman, even if the woman and doctor both object. The case was brought by doctors, who objected to being forced to deliver what they viewed as partisan messages with which they disagreed. Catherine Eagles Catherine Caldwell Eagles (born August 30, 1958) is a United States

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: who is senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights, another group which filed suit against the State over the constitutionality of NC Right to Know Act.". The groups opposing the restrictions also point to the fact that other states have struck down similar laws. "Courts in Texas and Oklahoma have "already blocked enforcement of these kinds of ultrasound requirements because they radically intrude on women's private lives and violate basic constitutional rights," said Bebe Anderson". Another possible outcome of the legislation is an increase in the cost of service. ""The cost to the patient would go up, but we're

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: could side against the state, said Maya Manian, a women's issues law professor at the University of San Francisco". Secondly, groups opposing the law claim that it is a violation of First Amendment rights to free speech. U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles ordered a preliminary injunction against the ultrasound requirement as she believes it could prove to violate First Amendment rights to free speech. "The First Amendment prohibits government directives on "both what to say and what not to say," she wrote". Eagles also stated, "the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down statutes that require students to recite the

title: Types of abortion restrictions in the United States
text: allowed to have the procedure. Mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds have been particularly controversial. In Texas, for instance, even if previous ultrasounds had indicated severe congenital defects, a woman seeking an abortion was required under a 2012 law to have another ultrasound done, "administered by her abortion doctor, and [she had to] listen to a state-mandated description of the fetus she was about to abort", though state-issued guidelines later did away with that ultrasound if the fetus had an "irreversible medical condition". On November 12, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the state of Oklahoma to the

title: Bob McDonnell
text: Virginia state legislature, controlled by Republicans, to require a trans-vaginal ultrasound for any woman contemplating an abortion in Virginia. McDonnell initially supported the bill, but backed off after public protests. He persuaded the legislators to pass instead a slightly watered-down version requiring a less invasive abdominal ultrasound before an abortion and exempting women who were pregnant as a result of rape or incest, provided they reported it to the police. The redrafted bill was opposed by pro-choice groups and a minority in the legislature, but McDonnell signed it into law on March 7, 2012. McDonnell was called "Governor Vagina", "Governor

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: be informed of "the probable gestational age of the unborn child at the time the abortion is to be performed." The legislation also requires "that ultrasound imaging and heart tone monitoring that enable the pregnant woman to view her unborn child or listen to the heartbeat of the unborn child are available to the woman". It goes on to say, the physician must inform the pregnant woman "that medical assistance benefits may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care.". It is also the physicians responsibility to inform the patient that, "the father is liable to assist in the

title: Deb Fischer
text: 675, which required abortion providers to display ultrasound images of the fetus at least one hour prior to the abortions, in a position where the abortion seeker could easily view them. A spokesman for the National Right to Life Committee stated that the Nebraska law was stronger than those of other states, which only required that the client be asked if she wanted to see an ultrasound image. The measure passed by a 40–5 vote, and was signed into law by Governor Dave Heineman. TENURE Fischer's district was geographically the largest in the Nebraska Legislature, comprising 12 counties and part

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act The North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act (House Bill 854 / S.L. 2011-405) is a recently passed North Carolina act creating a "more stringent abortion law" and it has been faced with extensive criticism. The law was passed and went into effect in October 2011. The bill outlines several new stipulations which must be met and carried out before a woman can receive an abortion. It was originally vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue but the veto was overridden by the General Assembly. "Legal challenges have temporarily blocked similar laws in Texas and

title: Eugenics Board of North Carolina
text: be given, and hearing rights established so that somebody subject to the sterilization law had the opportunity to appeal their case. Under both the U.S. Constitution and the N.C. State Constitution in place at the time, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1929 law was unconstitutional as no such provisions existed in the law as written. The North Carolina General Assembly went on in the wake of Brewer v. Valk to enact House Bill 1013, removing the constitutional objections to the law, thereby forming the Eugenics Board and creating the framework which would remain in force for over thirty years.

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: Liberties Union are among the opposing groups. Pro-choice groups against the legislation say that there are several aspects of the law that are not constitutional. First, the Supreme Court has ruled that restrictions on abortion are constitutional as long as they do not "place undue burden on a woman's right to the procedure". Opponents claim that the 24-hour waiting period could cause undue burden on women, especially those who live in rural areas. "If there is enough evidence that the law causes such difficulty, especially delays in care — abortions are safer the earlier they are performed — the court

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: to meet the ultrasound requirement in Section 90-21.85. The requirements to be met by the physician are as follows, "perform an obstetric ultrasound, provide a simultaneous explanation of what the ultrasound is depicting, the opportunity to hear the fetal heart tone, display the ultra sound images so that the pregnant woman may view them and obtain written certification that the requirements of the section have been complied with." Section 90-21.85 also states, "Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a pregnant woman from averting her eyes from the ultrasound images required to be provided to and reviewed with

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: using web cams during the procedure". "The Wisconsin law is the latest in a number of anti-abortion measures pressed by conservative lawmakers in the nation." Other examples of legislation aimed at restricting abortion rights have occurred in Mississippi and Arizona. "Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a law on Monday that may force the state's only abortion clinic out of business, and earlier this month Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a controversial measure banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy." In Arizona, "The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill to prohibit abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy; a

title: North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act
text: the highest previous total was 34." North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act The North Carolina Women's Right to Know Act (House Bill 854 / S.L. 2011-405) is a recently passed North Carolina act creating a "more stringent abortion law" and it has been faced with extensive criticism. The law was passed and went into effect in October 2011. The bill outlines several new stipulations which must be met and carried out before a woman can receive an abortion. It was originally vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue but the veto was overridden by the General Assembly. "Legal challenges have temporarily

title: Intact dilation and extraction
text: challenges, with Nebraska's the first to reach decision in "Stenberg v. Carhart". The Federal District Court held Nebraska's statute unconstitutional on two counts. One being the bill's language was too broad, potentially rendering a range of abortion procedures illegal, and thus, creating an undue burden on a woman's ability to choose. The other count was the bill failed to provide a necessary exception for the health of the woman. The decision was appealed to and affirmed by both the Eighth Circuit and the Supreme Court in June 2000, thus resolving the legal challenges to similar state bans nationwide. Since the