The NC house gave approval Wednesday to House Bill 854, requiring women wait 24 hours and receiving counseling before having an abortion. The legislation also stipulates that women be shown an ultrasound of the fetus before the procedure.

One of the the bill’s sponsors, Republican Rep. Pat McElraft, told the emotional story of the girlfriend of a family member who planned to have an abortion, only to change her mind after insisting the nurse show her the ultrasound.

Democrats repeatedly argued the legislation denies women the chance to make a very private choice and dictates exactly what physicians must tell any patient seeking an abortion.

Guilford County Rep. Alma Adams told her colleagues the legislature would never single out a medical procedure affecting only men, and that this bill “frightens, shames, and torments” women who have made an already difficult choice.

Mecklenburg County Rep. Ruth Samuelson argued her bill would keep abortions legal, safe, and “more rare.”

Cumberland County Rep. Rick Glazier, one of the few men to speak during the two hour debate, said the bill should be seen for what it is:

“…a substitution for a woman’s judgment about her body by the state of North Carolina. And the arrogance of the assumption of power that’s contained in the bill has to leave one breathless. The government has no business substituting its own desired outcome for the intensely personal and private judgment of a woman…or she with her family, or she with her God.”

Despite that passionate argument, the majority passed the bill passed 71-48. To hear more of Wednesday’s debate of HB 854, click below: