Wisconsin legislators voted to require women to get ultrasounds before receiving an abortion less than two weeks after introducing the bill.

The fast-tracked bill, which sparked controversy not only statewide but nationwide with the passing of similar bills in Mississippi, Virginia and Alabama, passed  with a party-line vote in the Senate, 17-15, on Wednesday and in the Assembly, 56-39, last Thursday. Gov. Scott Walker will likely sign the bill into law this week.

The bill requires an abdominal or transvaginal ultrasound and mandates that doctors give an oral medical description of the fetus, including a description of visible internal and external organs, dimensions of the fetus, number of fetuses and an explanation of the visible display. Women are not required to look the monitor.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, said the bill intends to provide women more information before making a decision.

“If you have a loved one that’s thinking about terminating their pregnancy, for crying out loud, you want them to have full information,” Lazich said. “You want them to have an ultrasound. You want them to know what’s going on in that womb.”

The bill includes exceptions for women with cases of rape, incest and medical emergencies, in addition to the choice of ultrasound.

Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, also the former public policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said transvaginal ultrasounds are extremely invasive procedures, adding that it is likely to be the only ultrasound option for women too early in their pregnancies to choose an abdominal ultrasound.

The Wisconsin Section of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a statement opposing the passage.

“To force a physician to recite a scripted oral description of the findings if the pregnant woman declines is abusive,” the statement said. “The proposed requirements do not make abortion safer for women, but do create unnecessary bureaucratic barriers and add both emotional and financial stress to an already difficult decision.”

The measure also requires that physicians performing abortions must be able to admit patients within 30 miles of the location of the abortion and be able to stay with their patients in the event of an emergency, instead of allowing the patient to go to an emergency room without the doctor who performed the abortion.

Taylor said the provision is a tactic used by many other states to shut down health care clinics, citing that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has said that enacting the bill into law would close its facility in Appleton. According to Taylor, in Appleton, acquiring admitting privileges at nearby hospitals for Planned Parenthood physicians would take a lot of time.

She added that a first trimester abortion is one of the safest outpatient procedures, and should not require admitting powers when emergency rooms are well equipped and prepared for such emergencies.

However, Rep. Joan Ballweg, R-Marksan, said the bill was not about politics, but about life decisions.

“We are looking to promote the idea that there are alternatives to the issue that are faced by women who are finding themselves pregnant without making that plan along the way,” Ballweg said.