By Matt Largey, KUT News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-976488.mp3
Austin, TX – An abortion rights group asked a federal judge Wednesday to temporarily block the implementation of a Texas law requiring doctors to perform a sonogram on a woman seeking an abortion. KUT's Matt Largey reports.
The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights has filed a lawsuit, aimed at overturning the law. In the meantime, the group wants the court to bar the state from enforcing the law, until the suit is resolved. They say the law's provisions requiring doctors to - among other things - describe the fetus in detail, is unconstitutional. Dicky Grigg is an attorney with the group.
Dicky Grigg: "Basically, what I think the issue is is whether politicians can mandate speech for a doctor. And you've got politicians saying that they know more about what a doctor ought to tell a patient than a doctor does."
The state argued that it has the authority to require doctors to give patients information to ensure informed consent. The judge said he will make a decision on the injunction request before October 1st, when doctors are required to start complying with the law.