The Virginia senate will most likely pass SB484, a mandatory ultrasound bill that requires women to undergo a potentially medically unnecessary and physically invasive procedure ostensibly to promote “informed consent,” but, in reality, to promote the right-wing’s forced birth agenda.
Unwilling to take this affront to women’s reproductive freedom lying down, State Senator Janet Howell attached an amendment to the bill which, in essence, said: “Up Yours!”
To protest a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston) on Monday attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication.
“We need some gender equity here,” she told HuffPost. “The Virginia senate is about to pass a bill that will require a woman to have totally unnecessary medical procedure at their cost and inconvenience. If we’re going to do that to women, why not do that to men?”
The Senate will formally vote on the mandatory ultrasound bill on Tuesday.
The Republican-controlled senate rejected the amendment Monday by a vote of 21 to 19, but passed the mandatory ultrasound bill in a voice vote.
Howell said she is not surprised her amendment failed.
“This is more of a message type of an amendment, so I was pleased to get 19 votes,” she said.
The GOP is waging a War on Women, and mandatory ultrasound bills are a front in that war. 21 states have introduced such bills, and 8 states have passed them. The bills require that women undergoing abortion receive an ultrasound, a procedure which is often invasive. From the Houston Chronicle (writing about one such bill in Texas):
According to the Guttmacher Institute, 88 percent of abortions occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Because the fetus is so small at this stage, traditional ultrasounds performed through the abdominal wall, “jelly on the belly,” often cannot produce a clear image. Therefore, a transvaginal probe is most often necessary, especially up to 10 weeks to 12 weeks of pregnancy. The probe is inserted into the vagina, sending sound waves to reflect off body structures to produce an image of the fetus. Under this new law, a woman’s vagina will be penetrated without an opportunity for her to refuse due to coercion from the so-called “public servants” who passed and signed this bill into law.
The Virginia bill is slightly less pernicious as the bill that passed in Texas.1 (And when I say “slightly” I mean “infinitesimally” but I don’t think that’s a word.)
The Texas bill requires that the doctor describe the sonogram to the patient, in addition to submitting to a potentially invasive ultrasound. In other words, a woman who has decided to undergo an abortion must first be forced to listen to her doctor tell her about the size of the fetus, body features and presence of internal organs.
The Virginia bill does not add that extra “consultation” requirement (which opponents contend implicates the First Amendment because it requires doctors to engage in government-mandated speech.) Nonetheless, the Virginia bill is yet another step in the implementation of the Republican plan to install a tiny government in the vagina of every American woman.
Well, I’m with Senator Howell. If tiny vagina governments are going to be forced upon women, then we should demand that men be subject to tiny anal governments. Let’s see how they like it.
(h/t Addicting Info)
1 The Texas bill was initially blocked in district court, but the Fifth Circuit recently ruled that the bill is constitutional and can be enforced.
[cross-posted at Angry Black Lady Chronicles]
LittlePig
While I doubted that amendment would make it, I sure hoped it would. Captured the point perfectly.
matryoshka
Women should go all Lysistrata and quit risking pregnancy altogether until this war is stopped.
Bulworth
Less government!
Breezeblock
Which African country was it where the women went on sex strike to protest their nation’s civil war? Ah yes, Liberia. And it worked too.
Just sayin’.
Soonergrunt
I already live under a tiny anal government. It’s called the State of Oklahoma.
And no, I don’t like it.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
As a man, I don’t think her bill went the right direction. The probe needed to be through the penis. As as person who recovered from surgery not knowing that they they had used a catheter, the front route would cause a sufficient amount of awareness.
What's your vector victor
Does the requirement that the women receive an ultrasound require that ultrasound to be… useful? Would it follow the strict letter of the law to just put the juice on, scan the belly, and show that (useless) image?
Bruce S
The bill failed because it would have given the voters a rare opportunity to get inside GOP lawmakers’ heads.
Villago Delenda Est
A point was made, but of course the wingtard trash did not get it.
Anyone who votes for this abominable law should be fucked sideways with a non-lubed rusty chainsaw.
General Stuck
I love the talk of rectal probes in the morning
Long live the thumb of death.
you guys know what I mean.
Villago Delenda Est
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Agreed. Hit these pricks (ahem) where they fucking live. Just watching such a procedure should be painful…of course, you have to be empathetic for this to work, and some of these bastards seem incapable of empathy.
Soonergrunt
@General Stuck: Why yes. Yes I do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPStwD1C8-c
Citizen Alan
At this point, given the pervasive desire of Republicans to force things up the vaginas of non-consenting women, is it not appropriate to just start referring to them as the Rape Party?
Judas Escargot, Your Postmodern Neighbor
I’m surprised that so many Republican men passed up a free rectal exam…
Steve
As a legal matter, it ought to make a difference if a sonogram at that gestational age requires vaginal penetration. If you look at case law involving, for example, the collection of DNA or blood samples from criminal suspects, I think you’ll find that the government has to meet a higher standard if it actually wants to invade your body. That’s not to say that I think they should be able to require a sonogram at all, of course, but I hope we can agree that a vaginal probe is more intrusive than a traditional sonogram.
In the Fifth Circuit case, I note that there wasn’t a challenge to the sonogram requirement itself, only to the “consulation” requirement where the doctor displays the results and makes required disclosures that he may not agree with – so this particular issue didn’t come up. Even though thinking about this failed amendment leaves me slightly butthurt, focusing on the bodily intrusion might strengthen the legal argument.
Patricia Kayden
Hopefully this will be challenged in the courts. I don’t see how the government can force me to undergo a medical procedure that neither me or my doctor finds necessary. What freedom do the women of Virginia have to stop politicians from meddling with their body?
Gin & Tonic
While I view the ultrasound thing as invasive and unnecessary, I’m not sure what “message” was being sent by her amendment. Pretty much any man who’s of an age to have occasional difficulty getting it up is also of an age where a digital prostate exam is part of his annual physical and is generally recommended for normal “preventative health.” Equating it with an invasive ultrasound I think demeans the insult to women in this legislation and greatly overstates the very brief and minor discomfort that most of us experience with the prostate exam, which we get every year anyway. And any man who makes a big issue out of the prostate exam probably has other, more significant issues with sexuality to begin with.
rlrr
a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication.
They should require the man produce a marriage certificate, otherwise there’s no legitimate need for erectile dysfunction medication…
jibeaux
Talked about this with co-workers earlier this week and got a good laugh. We agreed on some additional requirements, though. First, spousal consent. If you don’t have a spouse, you shouldn’t be fucking anybody. If you do, she has to agree because maybe she doesn’t want to be followed around by a randy old goat while she’s trying to get shit done. To be fair, we would allow for a judicial bypass option. You could go into open court and explain to a judge why you should get the Vi == ag ==ra. Naturally, there would be a waiting period. All of this would of course be so that the man fully understands all of his options before proceeding and can give his fully informed consent.
jibeaux
Talked about this with co-workers earlier this week and got a good laugh. We agreed on some additional requirements, though. First, spousal consent. If you don’t have a spouse, you shouldn’t be fucking anybody. If you do, she has to agree because maybe she doesn’t want to be followed around by a randy old goat while she’s trying to get shit done. To be fair, we would allow for a judicial bypass option. You could go into open court and explain to a judge why you should get the Vi , ag , ra. Naturally, there would be a waiting period. All of this would of course be so that the man fully understands all of his options before proceeding and can give his fully informed consent.
jibeaux
@Gin & Tonic: That’s why my amendment is even better.
Nancy
@matryoshka: Won’t work because all the fundie women will keep putting out.
Yevgraf
@Judas Escargot, Your Postmodern Neighbor:
It was the soc!alism. Rather than scaling it down and lowering the cost for everybody, they’d prefer that only wealthy conservative men pay the hundreds necessary for the hot tranny hooker to do that.
slag
@Bruce S: Ha!
Karounie
Who said anything about “free?” The ultrasound doesn’t seem to be free for the woman seeking an abortion.
mikefromArlington
Tea party push had zero to do with less spending and more to do with pushing religious beliefs on people.
Cat Lady
Well I will say this about this election cycle – all of the conservative masks are off, the dog whistles have been traded in for bullhorns and compassionate conservatism has been dropped for the FYIGM bend-over conservatism of old white men. It couldn’t really get any clearer about what’s at stake in November.
mikefromArlington
But hey, FDL says Dems are just as bad so fuckit. I’m staying home next November too!
harlana
God bless this woman!
General Stuck
Absolutely, why don’t you fire off an email to the lady senator, and recommend male rectal exams be done with a cattle prod. I think that would send a stronger message. I’m being serious, mostly.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Gin & Tonic:
That, and controlling women, is the point of all of this legislation from Republicans. From preventing gays to marry, to keeping girls from getting the HPV vaccine to this, it’s all about sex.
General Stuck
I would add, as a long time diagnosed person with chronic prostatitis, the thumb of death is not a benign experience. Nor is the urethra wire camera . Maybe forced prostate infections could do the trick. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, anymore than wingnuts playing politics inspecting female nether regions.
kay
Just wild. Talk about your slippery slopes.
gogol's wife
So you’re really back! I’m glad.
dedc79
So let me get this straight – requiring individuals to have health insurance is fascism/socialism but requiring women to subject themselves to certain medical procedures is ok?
Nothing should surprise me, I know, but the hypocrisy keeps piling up higher and higher….
harlana
hey, not only is it invasive, it’s downright psychologically cruel, but i guess that’s the whole point
harlana
@kay: maybe they think if abortion ever does become a crime, they can go back and use that ultrasound as evidence to throw these women in jail after the fact, and probably go for the friggin’ death penalty
JGabriel
ABL @ Top:
So let me get this straight: the state government wants to put a little Virginia in every Vagina?
Why haven’t they been laughed out of office yet?
.
harlana
i’m thinking the major point is to inflict as much emotional pain on a woman who is already suffering emotionally, and inflict as much guilt and punishment as possible for even considering an abortion, whatever the circumstances – thereby preventing abortion by confusing and emotionally breaking someone down who is already weak, vulnerable and often scared to death.
these people are just sick, twisted and brutal
as an earlier commenter noted, the mandatory cattle-prod prostate exam sounds good to me
WereBear
I think this bill rider applying to men is a sensible precaution a principled physician should insist upon anyway; giddy-up difficulties are usually related to circulatory issues connect to high blood pressure and/or diabetes. Don’t the commercials say to “Ask your doctor if you are healthy enough…”?
It occurred to me that all this screwing around with abortions and dickering about “would you reaaaaaallly die” is somewhat analogous to interfering with a man’s right to lose a testicle to cancer; there’s lots of potential babies at risk there! It’s just a question of a continuum.
But, for much the same reason, this will never come up either.
Kristine
@kay: Can anyone with a medical background speak to whether the introduction of a probe during the early stages of pregnancy poses any risk to the fetus? Could the test itself result in spontaneous abortion?
Just wondering if the forced birthers introduced a solution that may lead to exactly what they’re trying to prevent.
bago
Think of it as a massive government conspiracy. In order to embiggen government, you must have more babies. More babies means more future taxpayers. In order to ensure the big government conspiracy plays out, each fertile woman must be probed, and the baby must be scanned, to ensure compliance with the conspiracy.
Oh man, I bet if you put that into a chain email the support for this would dry up instantly.
...now I try to be amused
Janet Howell is my state senator. She did me proud. And I’m impressed that her amendment got 19 out of 40 votes. That’s every Democrat but one.
Brachiator
Fighting stupid BS with more stupid BS.
Not impressed.
Mnemosyne
If they’re talking about the same kind of probe they wanted me to put in my vajayjay to do a sonogram when they wanted to see if my appendix was about to burst or not (fortunately, it was not), I will tell you that we’re not talking about some insignificant pencil-sized probe. They showed it to me and said, “Jesus, that’s not a probe, that’s a new boyfriend!”
So, yes, this is the Rape Women For Wanting An Abortion bill.
ETA: I think at least a few votes could have been turned the other way if that state senator had actually brought the probe to be used to the floor for her speech.
jheartney
@rlrr:
Don’t forget requiring a long-form birth certificate as well.
Jacobi
I just want to say infinitesimally is a word and it means what you think it means.
Steve
All kidding aside, the idea of requiring spousal consent for dysfunction medication sounds like political genius. Of course, it might be a challenge to find a faithful politician to sponsor that bill.
General Stuck
@Mnemosyne:
That made me giggle.
Brachiator
@JGabriel:
The state was named in honor of “the Virgin Queen,” Elizabeth I. So, there is a twisted historical background to this inanity.
th
As someone who has experienced both vaginal ultrasounds (checking for hereditary ovarian cancer) and an abortion – the abortion is more intrusive and painful by far. Not that I agree with requiring a useless expensive test by any means. But you know, they hate women, what more can you say.
harlana
those things (ultrasounds) do hurt, like major menstrual cramps, i know i cried a little bit. just saying
Someguy
This makes all the sense in the world – punish a bunch of men who didn’t ask for this in order to make a political point.
Along the same lines, I’ve decided to punish my nextdoor neigbhor for his dog crapping on my flowers. So I’m going down the street to key another guy’s car.
daveNYC
@Kristine:
Ha! Like they’d care. If the woman is there considering an abortion, then she’s probably a dirty dirty slut who deserves whatever bad things would happen to her.
This shit is never about protecting the child, it’s about punnishing the woman.
Paul in KY
@…now I try to be amused: I bet that Democrat was a male.
harlana
if it’s a colposcopy, they squirt a whole bunch of water into your uterus to stretch it out – fun stuff
harlana
if it’s a colposcopy, they squirt a whole bunch of water into your uterus to stretch it out – fun stuff
Mnemosyne
@Someguy:
Because the woman having a ultrasound probe forced into her vagina by the state of Virginia before she’s allowed to have an abortion “asked for it”?
Mnemosyne
@th:
The point is more that the state is mandating that women be subjected to an unnecessary medical procedure that is potentially painful, not that one hurts more than the other. My knee surgery hurt like a motherfucker, but it was part of getting a new ACL installed, not an extra and unneeded procedure to make state legislators feel good about protecting “babies.”
harlana
@Kristine: i don’t know but considering the pressure involved (pumping the uterus full of water to the point where it is at least very uncomfortable if not painful to the patient) and depending on the size of the fetus, it certainly seems like it could very well be detrimental to the fetus. i’m no doc, however.
Julia Grey
I think they need the fluid in the BLADDER, not the uterus.
jonas
@Bruce S: You win the thread.
Kristine
@Julia Grey: Aye, verily. I had one recently to monitor an ongoing (non-life threatening) issue, and I was told to drink 32 oz of water an hour prior. That’s when they do the external ‘gram. Then they have you go to the bathroom before inserting the probe because no way in hell could you tolerate that with a full bladder.
Kristine
@daveNYC:
yeah, I see whole new opportunities to jail women and doctors. the test wasn’t performed correctly on purpose, they would say, in order that the woman would lose the baby.
Enlightened Liberal
Funny how conservatives are against health care mandates which drive up the price of care, unless it’s to shame women exercising choice.
PIGL
@Someguy: The point of the ammendment was to ridicule and shame the misogynist prick-bastard male Republican politicians who want control over women’s bodies and lives, to the point of state sanctioned rape. Fuck them and all who sail in them.
slightly-peeved
@53: somebody voted these jokers in. Probably a lot of older guys.
MazeDancer
Besides abhorrent, it cannot possibly be constitutional to force a woman to have a trans vaginal ultrasound. Invasive doesn’t even begin to describe it. And it only works if the woman has a full bladder. Full. Completely. As in you have to sit in the waiting room really wanting to go the bathroom, but you can’t, because you have to go in a room and have a probe stuck up inside you.
This cannot be constitutional.