Abortion Bill Defeated | Video

Amanda Tetlak | 4/3/2009

There were a number of contentious bills on the floor at the legislature today.

Two of the most talked about bills went down to defeat.

They both stirred up a lot of controversy.

A bill that sparked a lot of the debate in the House, didn`t create much at all in the Senate today.

The bill that establishes that human life begins at conception with the intent to challenge Roe Versus Wade failed by a final vote of 29-16.

Senator Curtis Olafson was the only lawmakers to speak on the bill today.

He says the proposal would make it difficult for doctors to treat problem pregnancies, because the unborn child and its mother would have equal rights.

"We have an obligation to pass laws which define as precisely as possible how the law is to be interpreted," says Olafson (R), of Edinburg. "House Bill 1572, if interpreted by the letter of the law would create more serious legal complications than any bill I have ever seen."

Senators voted in favor of a bill that would require abortion clinics to offer a woman an ultrasound of their baby before they have an abortion.

They also passed a bill that would require a clinic to tell a woman that she is killing a human being before having an abortion.

COMMENT ON THIS STORY