Editorial, Orlando Sentinel
April 23, 2008
There is no relationship more deserving of privacy than that between a patient and her doctor.

That's why it's wrong for the Legislature -- particularly with its Republican leadership's professed goals of diminishing the size and scope of government -- even to consider injecting its whims on women seeking legal abortions.

That's exactly what an effort led by Sen. Daniel Webster would do. Mr. Webster would require women who are seeking first-trimester abortions to have sonograms performed and then be forced to decide whether to view the images.

A similar bill has already passed the House, and Mr. Webster's bill is ready for a vote by the Senate. Senators ought to reject this government intrusion into a woman's very personal decision.

Florida law already requires ultrasounds to be performed before abortions performed in the second and third trimesters. But 90 percent of abortions take place in the first, so this would greatly expand the reach of government.

Under the proposal, women could sign a waiver if they did not want to view the sonogram, but they'd still have to pay for it. That could add as much as $250 to the cost of an abortion, which could prevent poor women from receiving them.

Women who could prove they were victims of rape or incest would not have to have the sonogram, but an estimated 61 percent of sexual assaults go unreported, so this would only add to the trauma they've already experienced.

Having an abortion is a private decision. The government should respect that privacy.