No Medical Reason for Requiring Ultrasound
March 1, 2013
Today, the Indianapolis Star, posted my letter to the editor on the state’s anti-choice legislation that would require women to get an ultrasound before a medication abortion.
No matter what supporters of Senate Bill 37 say, this bill is a blatant example of anti-choice legislators attempting to practice medicine without a license.
The bill would require women who choose early medical abortion care to undergo a medically unnecessary ultrasound. As the professional association of abortion providers in North America, the National Abortion Federation sets the standards for quality abortion care through our evidence-based clinical policy guidelines. Our guidelines do not require an ultrasound for first-trimester abortion care — including medical abortion — because there is no evidence that doing so improves patient outcomes or the safety of abortion care. Abortion is already one of the safest medical procedures provided in the United States and more than 1.75 million women have chosen medical abortion to safely terminate an early pregnancy since mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000.
The personal ideologies of some Indiana legislators should not trump credible scientific evidence and the expertise of health-care providers. There is no medical justification for SB 37, and we urge legislators to reject this politically motivated legislation.