Connecticut limits souvenir ultrasounds

Under a law signed by Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell in June, ultrasounds can be performed in the state only when "ordered by a licensed health-care provider...for a medical or diagnostic purpose." The law was passed because of concern that businesses that offer ultrasounds to expectant parents as keepsakes could potentially endanger the fetus, according to the New Haven Register (6/25/09).

In a statement, Governor Rell said that while she understands why expectant parents want to "document every moment of this miraculous process," these wishes cannot be allowed to "pose a risk to the health of a mother or her baby." Further, said the governor, we cannot take the chance "that a mother might skip her medically necessary ultrasound appointment simply because a 'keepsake' ultrasound seemed to indicate all was well with the baby."