The U.S Supreme Court Monday decided not to hear North Carolina’s appeal on a state law that required women before an abortion to receive an ultrasound, that allowed them to see or possibly hear the heartbeat of a fetus.
This is a victory for opponents of the law. In December 2014, a federal appeals court ruled unanimously in favor of ACLU and Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit.
“The state cannot commandeer the doctor-patient relationship to compel a physician to express its preference to the patient,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit wrote in the ruling.
The law which was known as the North Carolina Women’s Right to Know Act stated that physicians must “provide a simultaneous explanation of what the ultrasound is depicting, which shall include the presence, location, and dimensions of the unborn child within the uterus and the number of unborn children depicted.”
“The individual performing the ultrasound shall offer the pregnant woman the opportunity to hear the fetal heart tone,” the law continued. “The ultrasound image and auscultation of fetal heart tone shall be of a quality consistent with the standard medical practice in the community. If the ultrasound image indicates that fetal demise has occurred, a woman shall be informed of that fact.”
Ten other states require an ultrasound before abortions, though this decision by the Supreme Court does not set any precedent, and won’t affect those existing laws.