'Sonya's Law' Passes State Senate in Contentious Session

A bill requiring physicians to perform an ultrasound for a woman considering abortion was passed Wednesday by the Wisconsin Senate.

Known as “Sonya’s Law,” Senate Bill 206 was passed 17-15 along party lines and sent along to the state Assembly for consideration. According to WisPolitics.com, Democrats pleaded with Republicans to hold off on the vote, shouting out objections as Senate President Mike Ellis banged his gavel in an attempt to keep order.

The bill’s author, Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), said after the passage: “Considering the gravity of the decision to have an abortion, it is only right that a pregnant woman is fully informed about her child prior to abortion. Far too many women regret their abortion and suffer years of abortion trauma. This legislation allows women to take advantage of readily available technology to provide them knowledge before undergoing a life and death decision.”

The bill is named for a woman who, according to Lazich, was considering an abortion last November before taking advantage of a free ultrasound and then choosing to carry the child to term.

Teri Huyck, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, offered a rebuke of the passage: “SB 206 is opposed by the medical community because it compromises women’s health care. Rather than listen to physicians who practice medicine, including the Wisconsin Medical Society, WI Academy of Family Physicians, Wisconsin Public Health Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Republican Senators have chosen to oblige special interest groups focused on ending women’s access to birth control and abortion."