H. 3245 Passes with Our Changes
At 11:30 last night, the SC House and Senate passed H. 3245, the Two Trip Ultrasound Mandate. The final version of the bill has been converted into a women’s rights bill, and therefore passed with our support.
The final version of H. 3245 eliminated the two trips initially required by the House version, and instead, allows women to access a series of information about healthcare and medical options from numerous sources. These include private physicians, local clinics, and the Department of Health website.
The approved bill is also significant because it does not contain any form of ultrasound requirement, nor does it mandate that women visit medical facilities more than once. These proposals were huge burdens for women throughout the state, and we removed after heavy pressure from health advocacy groups and our Tell Them members.
This is the only bill on our issues that passed the SC Legislature during the 2009-2010 legislative session (13 were proposed) – and it was only passed after tremendous pressure to remove most of the restrictive language. In fact, supporters of our proposed compromise language were such a strong force that this bill actually expands women’s access to medical information.
This is a huge victory for Tell Them and our supporters. This win has been 2 years in the making, and your support and effort made this possible. Thank you for all your hard work.
