When I lived in New York City many moons ago, I remember there was a news segment on the nightly news called "Shame on You." There was also a pretty racy soft-core porn show on network television at 11:00. I was grateful when it went off the air, if for nothing else than its outrageous tackiness. It was downright bad. The Shame on You segment was really funny, though -- produced on the fly and always featuring some loser who had tried to shirk the law or done some egregious deed.
Anywoo.
The legislature of Virginia just passed a bill that would require all pregnant women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound 24 hours before doing so, to ascertain the age of the fetus. The big Repubs who pushed this through (after backing off their requirement for a trans-vaginal sonogram) call it necessary for informed consent, because you know they do have the woman's best interest in mind and as of this moment, the law dictates freedom of choice. Republican Governor Bob McDonnell is expected to sign the bill into law.
I say, Shame on you, State of Virginia. Shame on you.
Addendum: I'm inspired by a couple of the comments, already, and I wonder whether you might contribute your ideas for intrusive medical procedures for unmarried men before they consider having sex with a woman. And yes, I realize this is a very complicated issue and yes, I realize that people are genuinely offended by and disagree with abortion morally, and yes, it's a free country and we're free to disagree, but no, I'm not mincing words when I say shame on all those who fight tooth and nail to dismantle freedoms afforded to women. My response will be bitter and scathing satire at best. At worst -- well -- I won't say it in public.
Of course, we all know that it has nothing to do with determining the age of the fetus...it's all about having a woman looking at a beating heart ... veiled Gestapo tactics masquerading as informed consent. Shame is so kind of a word....
ReplyDeleteYes shame, shame, shame on the state of my birth! Even my staunchly repub sister was against the bill.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
this is such a fucking outrage. i think every man in virginia should have his penis photographed before (and after) intercourse. just in case.
ReplyDeleteelizabeth, you dont need to post this if my language is too offensive... i cant seem to talk nicely about this.
I think that every man in the state of Virginia ought to have to consider what they would feel like if a law went into effect that forced them to undergo catheterization on a regular basis to ensure that they weren't passing along STDs. Methinks that would stop them in their tracks.
ReplyDeleteI might volunteer to perform the tests on the men who voted for this bill first. Just sayin'...
As we sit here, our rights as women to choose what is right for our own bodies and our own LIVES are being chipped away at.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure this is already the law in Florida.
It is infuriating beyond my ability to express.
Shame on them indeed, guilt inducing outrage. I'm appalled.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to hear a convincing argument as to why this is so awful. Because the information an ultrasound provides might dissuade a woman from getting the abortion she was initially seeking? Why, objectively, is that awful? I don't buy the horror at the thought that a woman might have to have an ultrasound wand inserted in her vagina. There's nothing in such an act that is more invasive than what happens in an ordinary pelvic exam, and it seems overly delicate to take such umbrage at the idea. If you haven't had both, let me tell you that an abortion is far more invasive, painful, and degrading than an ultrasound.
ReplyDeleteIf it's shameful, say, for Rick Santorum to seek to withhold information about their fetuses from pregnant women, because the women in question might use that information to make the "wrong" decision, then it can't be any less shameful to seek to withhold information about their fetuses from pregnant women seeking abortions because *they* might use the information to make the "wrong" decision. You can't have it both ways.
Pentimento: I disagree with you utterly. Why should the LAW dictate that I receive an ultrasound before I terminate my pregnancy? If you think it's part of "informed consent," I'd say that you're naive. If a woman wants to know the "age of her fetus" to make a better decision about terminating it, then I say she should have the procedure. But you and I know that is hardly what is going on here. It's absolutely absurd that these things are being decided by state legislatures.
ReplyDeletePentimento: In addition, no woman is forced to have a routine pelvic exam under any circumstances "by the state." They are recommended for overall preventive health, but it's not the law to have a pelvic exam. It's not a good analogy. If you are against abortion, I believe you should speak like this: I am against abortion and believe that the current law which mandates access to abortion should be dismantled. I believe the government should pass laws that make and/or force physicians and women to be dissuaded from abortion, and one of the methods that should be used is a sonogram that will show the woman the fetus, its heartbeat and other indications that it's alive. The woman should then be forced to view the sonogram and be told that having an abortion amounts to baby killing and that she is a murderer if she does so.
ReplyDeleteI say be honest in your intent. The Legislature should be honest in its intent, and most people would agree that their intent is to dismantle Roe v. Wade and force women to bear children.
if we suggest that, perhaps, a civilized and developed country might want to consider providing its citizens with basic healthcare, then we are "condemned" as socialist or communist. yet, it's okay to use governmental legislation to force women to undergo a medical procedure for which there is no medical rationale. who's going to pay for that "health care"?
ReplyDeleteDear Pentimento,
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight...if an adolescent is raped and gets pregnant, she next has to endure another unwanted penetration, and subsequent photographs, of a embryo she never wanted in the first place and is not equipped to carry to term? The ultrasound is a punishment for a decision some deem "wrong." I don't think you should HAVE an abortion if you don't choose one, and most people don't say "let's see, manicure, massage or abortion today." For most, it's a difficult decision made for reasons you should not judge.
You GO Elizabeth...tell it like it is!!
ReplyDeleteI am not for shaming anyone actually, but to victimize a woman, who when seeking an abortion, 99% of the time, is so overwhelmed with her own shame in the face of an untenable situation and letting the male off scottfree just screams.....republican.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they never come up with some stupidass law like this that affects the male???? Why do republicans hate women? Why do they think abortion is murder, but war is honorable?
Why does this society always put the burden on the woman and just looks the other way were men are concerned? All people need to be responsible for their behavior, but these politicians who think up stupid manipulative laws like this, that only affect the psychological wellbeing of the woman and not the man.......are men. It's pathetic.
Thank you Elizabeth for bravely writing about this tonight and for your eloquent response to the commenter.
Anyone who believes that women and their physicians cannot be trusted to make complicated medical decisions without legislative interference is a misogynist. Isn't this why we have to sign those HIPPA forms every time we go to the doctor or dentist? To protect our private medical records? I smell hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteI think it's telling that this issue makes sooo many women in this country want to shove medical instruments up the dicks of Virginia legislators.
ReplyDeleteHow about mandatory monthly prostate exams for all sexually active men. Make sure they are making up to snuff "fluids", you know, to keep the population "healthy". ;)
ReplyDeleteI, personally, am against abortion (for me, in my current situation), but I am also VERY pro choice. I heard a great analogy the other day: Say there is a person who needs a kidney transplant, and the govt. told you that you had to provide the kidney since you have two of them and you could save this other person's life. Would the govt. be allowed to do this? Of course not...they can't tell you what to do with your body...it is your CHOICE. Similarly with a pregnancy, the govt shouldn't be allowed to tell us what to do with our bodies to save another person's (fetus') life. The person whose body it is gets to decide what to do with their body.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elizabeth, for writing such smart posts.
And here's another SHAME ON YOU to Virginia...the very same Gov. McDonnell just repealed a law preventing people from buying more than one handgun a month. Apparently he learned nothing from the Virginia Tech massacre. Fittingly, he repealed the law the day after the school shootings in Ohio.
Does anybody else see the absurdity in both laws? Why do we value an unborn fetus over those that are already alive? Just how much money does he get from the NRA?
I think the state of VA along with any other state with such a requirement should have to pay for the ultra sound at the venue of the woman's choice.
ReplyDeleteAs for responding in kind for ridiculous tests for males, I don't agree. Another wrong just of the heck of it? Any measure should be to address the issue, not to drag another group of people in such ludicrousy. And yes, I saw the counter demand for the vaginal tests when the bill was being discussed. Made for good reading and a laugh, but not the way to this kind of business.
The insanity just grows and grows, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much for placing the ad on your sidebar, and for hosting the give-away. It's so great to have a "village" like this.
ReplyDeleteCatherine: Thanks for your comment. I am greatly amused by the "in kind" suggestions for males -- but certainly don't take them seriously or truly advocate them. I think black humor and satire has an important place, though, in all discussion and argument -- and I'd venture to say that given the ludicrousness of this current debate, is maybe the only thing that sustains some of us from wanting to flee the country!
ReplyDelete