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Republican legislators want to roll out the regulatory power of state government in a big way over a private issue — abortion.

A bill supported by dozens of GOP lawmakers isn’t just overbearing. It attempts to intimidate abortion providers and to shame women who seek the procedure.

Abortion is an unhappy choice, but it’s legal. The Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade said states can’t deny a woman’s right to choose that option. It’s inappropriate, therefore, for the state to use its regulatory power to pressure women to continue their pregnancies. That’s exactly what this legislation attempts to do.

It requires providers, at least 24 hours ahead of time, to spell out the medical risks of abortion — which they should — and “any adverse psychological effects,” which sounds speculative. The woman must be told “the probable gestational age of the unborn child”; that there are alternatives to abortion, including keeping the baby or placing it for adoption; that medical benefits “may be available for prenatal care, childbirth and neonatal care”; and that she has a right to view printed materials, which this law would require. A House committee Wednesday wisely deleted a requirement that the information include this statement: “The life of each human being begins at conception. Abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique living human being.”

The bill requires abortion providers to perform an “obstetric ultrasound” on the pregnant woman at least four hours before the procedure, and to give her “a simultaneous explanation of what the ultrasound is depicting.” Forcing someone to have an unnecessary medical test is extraordinary. An ultrasound generally costs at least $100. Who will pay? The woman must be offered the chance to hear “the fetal heart tone.” The bill allows that she may avert her eyes from the ultrasound image and refuse to listen to the heart tone, and that she won’t be subjected to any penalty if she does. What a relief. But she will have to sign a statement indicating her choice.

The bill requires extensive statistical reporting by abortion providers but notes that the appropriate state agency should “take care” to see that none of this information “could reasonably lead to the identification” of any woman who had an abortion. The wording leaves women to worry — reasonably — about the security of that information.

The bill also allows “any father of an unborn child” that was aborted to take legal action against a provider who violates this law. In such a case, the bill says, a court could decide whether to protect the anonymity of the woman involved — which means it just as easily could deny her right to privacy.

These outrageous provisions place frightening burdens on women when they already may be experiencing emotional crisis.

Some requirements do make sense, including parental consent for dependent minors. But most of the measures proposed in this bill impose a strongly prejudicial attitude on adult women who should be left alone to make a legal decision.