The Fourth Circuit struck down North Carolina's requirement that doctors and ultrasound technicians perform an ultrasound at least four hours but not more than 72 hours before the abortion is to take place, display an image of the sonogram and "and specifically describe the fetus to any pregnant woman seeking an abortion, even if the woman actively 'averts her eyes' and 'refuses to hear,'" Slate's Dahlia Lithwick reports. The court ruled the requirement violates the First Amendment rights of healthcare providers. Doctors who did not follow the law could face damages and lose their licenses to practice, Lithwick also notes.
Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, who authored the opinion for the panel, is a conservative jurist and was shortlisted for John Roberts' seat as chief justice of the Supreme Court, Lithwick notes.
The ruling presents a circuit split with the Fifth and Eighth Circuits, which have upheld similar laws.
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