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RALEIGH (MCT) — Reversing the state's past policy, the Senate late Wednesday night voted 29 to 20 to place limits on abortions.

The Woman's Right to Know Act requires women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion within which time they must view an ultrasound or listen to the heartbeat of the fetus and be given printed information about the risks that may be associated with the procedure.

The bill does not make abortion illegal, but critics argue that it encroaches on a woman's privacy and creates too many requirements for doctor-patient interactions. The bill passed the House last month in a 71-48 vote. It now goes to the governor's desk where Democrats expect her to veto it.

The law would make North Carolina one of 34 states to require a waiting period before an abortion. Seven states now require counseling before the waiting period, 16 states require that the woman be offered information on the risks and eight require that the materials be given to her.

"We know statistically that this type of legislation helps to make abortions more rare," said Republican Sen. Warren Daniel of Morganton, on the Senate floor. About 30,000 abortions are performed in the state annually, and similar legislation has shown to reduce that number by up to 10 percent.

"This bill is an insult to women," said Democratic Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird of Chapel Hill. "I would think that most women who have arrived at this decision have probably talked with their primary doctor."

North Carolina's legislation also requires that physicians who perform the procedure show the woman a real-time view of her unborn child while simultaneously describing what she is seeing. Four other states require that the mother see an ultrasound, but North Carolina would be the first to require a woman to listen to her doctor describe the images. Women without private insurance or Medicaid would be required to pay for the ultrasound procedure, generally around $300, out of pocket.

The legislation also is expected to be costly for the state. The General Assembly's fiscal research division estimates that over the next five years, it could cost $35 million to cover development of a website to describe statewide resources and to produce and distribute the informational materials.

"Right to Know" is just one of several pieces of abortion-limiting legislation moving through this session's Republican-controlled legislature. When Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue's state budget veto was overridden by the House on Wednesday, the state became the third in the nation to stop funding its Planned Parenthood clinics. Government funding for the organization was used to pay for pregnancy prevention programs and health care but never for abortions.

A bill that would authorize various specialty license plates including one that says "Choose Life" passed through the Senate Finance committee Wednesday after passing the House last week. Proceeds from the license plate would be transferred to non-profit clinics that serve pregnant woman but do not provide or refer patients for abortion procedures. That bill now goes back to the Senate for a vote.