Proposed abortion bills worry opposers

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - Hundreds protested outside the state capitol in Richmond Monday morning to protest two bills they fear will outlaw abortion.

HB1, also known as the Personhood Bill , would define life as beginning at conception. HB 462 would require women to get an ultrasound before having an abortion.

Some opponents are calling HB 462 state-sanctioned rape, citing the invasive nature of the ultrasound. 10 On Your Side went to a Chesapeake OB/GYN who specializes in ultrasounds to see the equipment used in the procedure.

When most people think of an ultrasound, they picture a technician rolling a wand over a pregnant woman's abdomen to reveal a fuzzy black and white picture.

But when the patient is fewer than about seven weeks along, doctors can't get the picture using a wand on the stomach.

Dr. Banan Alnaif showed WAVY.com the one they use instead.

"It is shaped in a way that we can put it inside the vagina and get really close to the uterus," Alnaif said. 

Alnaif explained that the patient feel no pain as the wand is moved from side to side, just some discomfort.

Under bills passed by Virginia's House and Senate, a woman who wants an abortion would be required to have one of these transvaginal ultrasounds and could then opt to see the images.

"I can't imagine having an 18-year-old girl, first-time pregnant, having to have all these things imposed on her. I think it's very scary," pro-choice advocate Ericka Volk told 10 Your Side.

Volk is vehemently against the bill. She is even more worried about HB1,  sponsored by delegate Bob Marshall.

"We need to get back to the respect for life that we used to have in this country that's been lost," Marshall said.

The HB1 bill passed the House, the Senate will vote this week.

If it becomes law, some birth control pills may become illegal because they prevent implantation of fertilized eggs.

That's what worries Volk who said, "They're small laws. To some people they may seem minor, but if you have, if you have many of these building up over the years and pass them one after another, eventually it can happen [that] abortion will be illegalized in Virginia."

10 On Your Side reached out to Governor Bob McDonnell to ask if he will sign either piece of legislation.

A spokesman replied, "If they are passed, the governor will review the bills, in their final forms, at that time."

Virginia is not alone in this battle over human life and women's rights, Oklahoma lawmakers are considering a similar bill while ballot initiatives are being introduced in other states.