The Republican governors are at it again…now Virginia Governor Bob McConnell wants to ban people from being able to buy PRIVATE insurance that covers abortion. Not sure how “small government” means controlling what citizens can do with their money to buy legal things such as health insurance.
Read more about this terrible plan to further hinder choice and then sign the NARAL petition to stop it.
Update on Forced Ultrasound Laws
Virginia is now the 8th state with forced ultrasounds before abortion. When it passed its law, it joined Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
Texas has the harshest forced ultrasound law currently in effect. As Andrea Grimes reported,
“Texas has the most extreme law that’s being enforced right now,” says the Center For Reproductive Rights’ Julie Rikelman, the lead attorney on the CRR’s lawsuit filed against the Texas legislation. Despite the sympathetic leanings of a federal district judge who initially ruled on the case, the suit has more or less been stalled by a vehemently anti-choice Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied the CRR’s requested injunction against enforcement last month. Now, that means that all aspects of the law—mandated ultrasounds, 24-hour waiting periods, and forced speech—are now in full force in Texas.
Oklahoma’s forced ultrasound bill, which was similar to TX’s, was struck down by a federal court recently.
North Carolina, which also has passed a harsh TX-style forced ultrasound bill, is unable to enforce their law pending a court decision.
Pennsylvania’s forced ultrasound bill is officially kaput, at least for this year.
And, as Robin Marty reports, Iowa:
What is the difference between a traffic light camera and a mandatory trans-vaginal ultrasound? One is a violation of privacy, according to Iowa legislators.
Can you guess which?
The Iowa legislature is considering banning traffic cameras due to “privacy concerns.” And those who are arguing for the ban are the same who think all women should be forced to undergo forced ultrasounds prior to an abortion.
Surprise, surprise.
Doonesbury continues in progressive stride…..
Today in Alabama, where Republicans have also backed off the vaginal part of their vaginal probe bill, protesters gathered. From the looks of the crowd in Montgomery, they’re not backing down. More on the Rachel Maddow show tonight.
By Jodi Jacobson
The bill, originally amended to remove a provision requiring a trans-vaginal ultrasound, which we contend constituted state-sponsored rape, now requires an abdominal ultrasound. The latter procedure is virtually useless for many early terminations of pregnancy because the embryo is not visible through abdominal ultrasound. The bill does say that “should a trans-vaginal ultrasound be needed, the doctor is required to offer it but the woman is allowed to refuse it.
Mandating an ultrasound that is not medically necessary of course ensures that you are both raising the costs of an abortion and also passing the costs onto the woman, because insurance will not cover medically unnecessary procedures
Moreover, the bill says the bill incorporates waiting periods for the ultrasound, increasing the time and costs of, for example, time off from work and child care. Doctors must make an offer of a trans-vaginal ultrasound, offer the woman a chance to view the ultrasound (whether trans-vaginal or abdominal) and hear it; the patient then has to certify she has seen the ultrasound, and the image produced—if one can be—has to be kept in her file. Doctors that don’t follow these guidelines face a civil fine of $2500.00. This is a common method of harassment of abortion providers… set up lots of requirements that have nothing to do with patient safety or medical necessity, and then constantly harrass doctors to make sure they are “complying. has to be kept in there, if not all complied with specifically, then face a civil.
The bill had little support in the state.
Bad news.
VA has become 8th state to force mandatory ultrasounds before an abortion. Joins AL, AZ, FL, KS, LA, MS, and TX. #NoForcedUltrasounds
[via Reuters]
Call Governor McDonnell at (804) 786-2211.
Send him an email at the link above.
You can tweet him at two different accounts: @BobMcDonnell and @GovernorVA.
Leave a note on his Facebook page.
The message is simple: “VETO #HB462. #NoForcedUltrasounds”
by Robin Marty
In the wake of the Virginia forced transvaginal ultrasound debate in Virginia, bill supporters have tried to justify their bill by stating that ultrasounds are the “gold medal standard” of pre-abortion care. But are they?
As one midwife explains in an article on The Clinical Advisor, unless a patient presents with an issue that would have a medical practitioner suspect an ectopic pregnancy, often they aren’t used at all.
