Sometimes a simple ultrasound means the difference between having a baby — or having an abortion.

Abortion is common in America due to the pro-choice movement’s ability to dehumanize the unborn baby. Defenders of the sanctity of human life work hard to combat this pervasive ideology with many tools, including ultrasound technology. But more than that, an ultrasound simply gives a mother more information — leading her to a better place when it comes to making what could be the hardest decision of her life.

“He was a human being, waving to his mom, in this picture while he was safe in my body.”

As of March 1, 2015, 13 states require verbal or written information concerning ultrasounds, and 25 states stipulate that an ultrasound must be offered or performed, with varying requirements for viewing the images, before an abortion can be carried out, the Guttmacher Institute reports.

And seeing an ultrasound might mean the difference between choosing life over having an abortion. Pro-life mom Amy Jedrysek obtained an ultrasound picture in which her baby is seemingly waving hello, reported Live Action News.

“Look at this picture of my son’s little hand,” Jedrysek said, according to Live Action News. “He is a human being now that he is a seven-month-old, chubby-faced baby, and he was a human being, waving to his mom, in this picture while he was safe in my body. Please find another way. Abortion kills the most innocent of human beings.”

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In the book “Pro-Choice 1990: Skeletons in the Closet,” author David Kuperlain quoted a physician named Dr. Joseph Randall about the power of ultrasounds to change minds. “They [the women] are never allowed to look at the ultrasound because we knew that if they so much as heard the heartbeat, they wouldn’t want to have an abortion,” Dr. Randall said, according to Kuperlain.

NARAL, a pro-choice advocacy organization, argues that “forced ultrasound laws” actually infringe on women’s freedom to make their own decisions. “Forced ultrasounds are not about providing information,” NARAL’s website states. “These laws are meant to shame and harass women, and to allow politicians to interfere in the doctor-patient relationship.”

An ultrasound before an abortion, however, is simply good medical practice. The NARAL movement relies on reducing the baby in the womb to a clump of cells while championing a woman’s choice to kill her unborn child.

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Of the 25 states that have ultrasound laws, only four actually require the doctor to show the woman the image. This means that women in all the other states are unable to make the most informed decision about their pregnancy and their unborn child.

The failure to perform an ultrasound prior to a woman’s abortion means complications can arise — and in some cases, even the death of the mother can result due to undiagnosed conditions. Women suffering from ectopic pregnancies go home after an abortion believing they are no longer pregnant and that their troubles are over — only to die from their complications.

Some women opt not to view the ultrasound — often resulting in their decision to go through with the abortion. An alarming 98.4 percent of women have an abortion without viewing the ultrasound image, according to research published in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Yet 78 percent of women who view an ultrasound before their abortion change their mind, according to Life News.

For women to have the most information about such an important event in their lives, an ultrasound is vital. With more information comes a more well-informed decision. Ultrasound technology saves countless babies every day — it helps show the humanity of the unborn child.