Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court rendered illegal the law demanding an ultrasound scan prior to an abortion in North Carolina. The Court of Appeal had previously deemed this law to be anti-constitutional, thereby blocking its application.
The aim of this 2011 law was to allow “women to see the foetus, hear its heart beat and listen to the explanations of a doctor prior to undergoing an abortion”. For North Carolina legislators, this is considered essential information in order to make an irrevocable decision.
This approach changed the opinion of 70% of women. For others, it is an “unjustified obstacle” to abortion.
The Supreme Court also had to deal with a Mississippi law “calling for doctors practising abortions to obtain hospital authorisation”.
AFP (15/06/2015) – Reuters (15/06/2015)