trans-vaginal ultrasound for no medical reason - Virginia, anti-choice

[MitchieInge]

(and other states I think) is there a thread about this already?

Pressuring a woman to hear the heartbeat of a baby she has opted to abort, and enshrining that pressure in law, is NOTHING to do with informed consent or diagnosis/treatment.

It is emotional blackmail and punishment.

They'll be passing a law saying a woman has to look at images of aborted foetuses next .

Well, Texas is almost there...

at that AyeRobot.

From that link;

So far, six of the 50 U.S. states have passed laws requiring abortion providers to perform an ultrasound on each woman seeking an abortion and provide the woman an opportunity to view the image, according to the Guttmacher Institute in Washington, which studies reproductive health issues.

While most of those states allow women to decline to view the image, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina require women to hear the provider's verbal description of the ultrasound.

The laws in Oklahoma and North Carolina are temporarily not being enforced, pending court challenges.

Six states require this. Six out of fifty.

Do we seriously think it is because these 6 states are well meaningly concerned with women's health and informed consent - to the point where they think that women need descriptions of the baby they have elected to abort in order for them to understand that they are consenting to an abortion?

Or do we think that they are trying to make it harder for women to access abortions without moralising blackmail/hoops to jump through?

Remembering that we are in a political context which is anti-choice in these states.

"Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, told ABC News he supports ?the concept that a woman should have all of the information possible before she makes a decision about terminating a pregnancy"

Sounds like they should add "and at the first doctor's apointment, the cost of raising a child to 18, and the lack of sleep involved with a newborn" to the bill. Wouldn't do to have a woman go into motherhood without her eyes open

--yes, I know that his statement is a veilled "I want my opionion seen, and not what it says on the tin. but wouldn't be fab if it WAS, and this sort of thing was taken onward in both ways? -

good point mrsM - there's the risk of pnd, complications in labour, bladder incontinency, weight gain (which we know to be linked to diabetes etc), loss of earnings, 18 years of responsibility, etc etc etc. informed consent would take quite a long time really wouldn't it?

whilst showing them pics of 7wk embryos we should also show them pics of torn perineums, mastitis, varicose veins, piles etc etc.

we wouldn't want to be accused of not informing their consent after all.

all of the information??!? ffs. do you think good old bob knows all the implications of having a child and being a mother? perhaps we could give out stats about the pay gap, the difference in promotion between women with children and those without, the statistical risks of dv for those with and without children, the stats regarding women living without any financial input from the fathers of their children, the number of women who have mild to severe incontinence following childbirth and simple things like the reality of living on a few hours sleep nightly for a year. like, you know, informed consent. bloody good point mrsM.

Since when did legislators ever legislate on specific medical procedures? I'd like to see evidence of them interfering in other forms of medical treatment e.g. heart disease, or diabetes.

The reason they are singling out abortion and coming between a woman and her medical practitioner is because of extreme woman-hatred. Nothing else.

A thousand protesters mainly women stood in silent vigil at the state capitol as the legislators (majority men) considered the bill.

Link:

jezebel.com/5886672/hundreds-of-protesters-form-silent-chain-outside-virginia-capitol

A thousand protesters mainly women stood in silent vigil at the state capitol as the legislators (majority men) considered the bill.

That is a very strong image.

Women standing in silent protest whilst men make decisions about an issue that doesn't even affect them - a women's issue.

How wrong it that?

I had a scan before termination here in the UK, at the same clinic as the one for women intending to continue with their pregnancies. I don't remember being asked for consent to this; I might have been. The sonographer asked me if I wanted her to turn the screen away - erm, yes please! I think it was much as Viva says - I expect I could have refused the scan, but then they would have refused the abortion. And I did have the dates a bit wrong, whoever suggested that women definitely know them, and the termination was surgical in the end.

Ah yes, the Virginia legislature. So concerned for the sanctity of human life. Am not quite sure how they square that with the fact that Virginia has the death penalty and apparently is so enthusiastic about it that only Texas executes more people. They really do like to punish, don't they? What utterly nauseating hypocrites these men are.