Local anti-abortion activists say Florida’s self-proclaimed “pro-life” governor missed an opportunity to save unborn babies by vetoing a bill that would have required most women considering an abortion to pay for and look at an ultrasound.

“Many women do not know what the child in the womb looks like,” said Jeanne Berdeaux, the Respect Life director at the Catholic Diocese of Venice. “When a woman sees her child, it becomes more real to her, and she is less likely to go through with the abortion.”

Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed House Bill 1143 on Friday, saying it placed an “inappropriate burden” on women.

Passed by the Legislature on the final day of the past session, the bill would have required a woman seeking a first-trimester abortion to seek an ultrasound and, in most cases, have it shown to her or described by a doctor. It also would have restricted publicly funded health insurance plans from covering abortions.

But ultrasounds are commonly given to women before abortions in about 85 percent of cases, according to Jim Styer, president of Sarasota-Manatee Right to Life.

“The governor said ultrasound violates the right to privacy. However, the bill does not require that any private information be revealed,” Styer said.

Meanwhile, abortion-rights activists were gratified that Crist heard their calls for a veto. Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida and its supporters held a rally along Sarasota’s waterfront May 13 and participated in a telephone effort to urge Crist to stop the bill.

“He understood the constitutional problem here and that this law would place an undue burden on women’s privacy,” said Barbara Zdravecky, chief executive officer and president of the local Planned Parenthood. “We’re satisfied he saw this as a burdensome issue for women.”

Reps. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, and Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, voted in favor of the bill. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, and Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, voted no.

Bennett was one of four Republicans who opposed the bill in the Senate.

“It’s just a personal choice, a personal decision,” Bennett said Friday of abortion. “I’ve always said I just don’t think it should be a man’s decision what a woman does with her body.”

Galvano did not respond to a message left for him.

Zdravecky said she expects the bill’s sponsors to try again in the next legislative session.

“I think we will see this bill again, and that’s why the next governor of the state of Florida should be pro-choice,” Zdravecky said.