Federal Court Blocks Demeaning North Carolina Ultrasound Law

(PRESS RELEASE) U.S. District
Judge Catherine Eagles granted in part a preliminary injunction today that will
block enforcement of intrusive measures in the new North Carolina law requiring
abortion providers to show women an ultrasound and describe the images in
detail four hours before having an abortion, even if the woman objects.

Civil
liberties advocates, including the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, the
Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the
American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit in the federal district court
for the Middle District of North Carolina on September 29 challenging the
constitutionality of the law, arguing that it violates the rights of health
care providers and women seeking abortion care.

“We
are extremely pleased that the court has blocked this clear attack on the
fundamental rights of health care providers providing abortions in North
Carolina,” said Bebe Anderson, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive
Rights. “The part of the law that the court blocked not only forces doctors to
go against their medical judgment to deliver an ideological message to their
patients, but also forces women to lie down and just take it. It’s hard to
imagine a more extreme example of government intrusion into the private matters
of individual citizens.”

After
hearing arguments from both sides on October 17, Judge Eagles issued her order
to ensure that key provisions of the law would not go into effect as scheduled
on October 26 during ongoing litigation of the underlying constitutional
questions. In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Eagles concluded that
the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their First Amendment claims that key
provisions of the law violate doctors’ free speech rights and that allowing the
law to go into effect would inflict irreparable harm on health care providers.

“If
the ultrasound requirements were put into effect, this law would place doctors
in a murky legal situation and inflict unnecessary harm on women,” said Katy
Parker, Legal Director for the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation. “The
state should not be using women’s bodies as political pawns, as this law
clearly seeks to do. We look forward to continuing our arguments and hope that
the court sides with the rights of women and their doctors over the ideological
agenda of lawmakers.”

The
new law, which the North Carolina General Assembly passed in July over the veto
of Governor Bev Perdue, would require abortion providers to perform an
ultrasound and place the image in the woman’s line of sight.  The provider would then be required to
describe the embryo or fetus in detail and to offer the woman the opportunity
to hear the “fetal heart tone.”  While
the law would allow the woman to avert her eyes and to “refuse to hear,” the provider
would still be required to place the images in front of her and describe them
in detail.  The measure would make no
exceptions for women under any circumstances, including cases of rape, incest,
or those who receive a tragic diagnosis during pregnancy.

 “The bottom line is, this law would prevent
licensed health care providers from providing patients with the highest quality
and most compassionate health care based on their individual needs,” said
Melissa Reed, Vice President for Public Policy at Planned Parenthood Health
Systems, Inc., one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “Today the court stood on
the side of women and health care providers who are faced with personal,
private and very complicated medical decisions every day.”