The Virginia Senate voted Tuesday for a modified version of the bill that would require women to undergo external ultrasounds before abortions, but not the transvaginal ones.

The 21-19 vote in the GOP-controlled Senate — mostly along party lines — came after Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) asked legislators to soften the bill following protests in Richmond, attention from national news and mocking on late-night TV.

State Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston, McLean, played a major role in publicizing the details the original bill, which required women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound that in the first trimester meant probing inside a woman's vagina, The Washington Post reported.

Abortions usually occur in the first trimester, when an external ultrasound would not work.

The bill now heads to McDonnell for his signature.