PIERRE, S.D. - Both the South Dakota Senate and House approved bills Tuesday that would require abortion clinics to offer pregnant women a chance to see sonograms of their fetuses.

Neither bill would force women to look at their sonograms, but they would have to acknowledge the opportunity to view them or indicate refusal to look at the ultrasound images.

Doctors could not do abortions unless first offering women the chance to see their sonograms.

Each bill now moves to the opposite legislative chamber.

Supporters believe that more women will abandon abortion plans if they first view their sonograms.

"When that woman sees that living child, we know, that as a result of that, she may very well not have an abortion," said Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, author of HB1193.

Doctors already do sonograms to make sure fetuses are within the legal period for abortions, he said. Women should at least be asked if they want to see those images, Hunt said.

Opponents said it's cruel to add another impediment in the abortion process - especially in those instances when women must have abortions for medical reasons.

"I was told that my child was going to be born without a head or that the … spinal cord was going to be outside of the vertebrae in the back. I had to have all of these tests. I had to go through genetics counseling. I had to do numerous things, and in that situation, you're faced with a life and death decision. It's not a decision that's taken lightly," said Rep. Deb Peters, R-Hartford.

Peters later told a reporter that she had the child, and he is a perfectly healthy 10-year-old today.

Peters said she opposes abortion but does not favor HB1193, which cleared the House 38-31.

"It's not doing what you think it's doing," she said of the bill. "You're going to be torturing women like me who have to make a life and death decision, and it's not fair."

Supporters of SB88, approved 21-13 in the Senate, said it makes sense to offer a woman a chance to see a sonogram before having an abortion so she has sufficient information to make a decision on whether to proceed.

Sen. Jay Duenwald, R-Hoven, said people need to know exactly what is happening when they go to a hospital or clinic for any medical examination.

"This is designed to help the pregnant mother make an informed decision," he said.

Research has indicated that some women are filled with regret and have emotional problems after having abortions, Duenwald added.

Sen. Sandy Jerstad, D-Sioux Falls, said offering the chance to view sonograms would increase the distress in instances when doctors recommend abortions to save women's lives.

"That's just harassment. That's cruel and unusual punishment," she said.

Kate Looby, state director of Planned Parenthood, said both pieces of legislation interfere in the personal relationships women have with doctors.

"These bills won't prevent even one unintended pregnancy and won't do anything to reduce the need for abortion," she said. "It's another example of Roger Hunt and a small group of legislators fixated on intruding into the personal, private matters of South Dakotans rather than providing authentic solutions."