There's a bill still alive in the Mississippi House that threatens to force that requirement into being here in Mississippi. HB 1196, written by Rep. Andy Gipson (R - Braxton), is Mississippi Republicans' version of the Texas law. HB 1196 mandates that physicians determine the presence of a fetal heartbeat prior to performing an abortion, except in the case of medical emergencies. If the physician fails to do so, he loses his license.
So how does that force the use of a transvaginal ultrasound? The best practice for detection of fetal heartbeat early in pregnancy is the transvaginal ultrasound. HB 1196 says that the State Board of Health "may promulgate rules for the appropriate methods of performing an examination for the presence of a fetal heartbeat of an unborn human individual based on standard medical practice." That means that the State Board of Health, completely unaccountable to the voters, will be the ones to enact the rule that says a doctor has to shove that probe into an unwilling woman's vagina at least 24 hours prior to an abortion.
So here's the irony: Let's say a young woman turns up pregnant after being raped. You know, after a man shoved something into her vagina when she didn't want it there. In order to end her nightmare and allow her to begin the process of healing physically and emotionally, she will have yet another thing shoved into her vagina while she's not willing. Except this time, it will be the State of Mississippi putting it there.
2 comments:
Excellent post. The nerve of some politicians to stick the government into the private lives (and private parts) of people who I love, my mother, sisters, cousins, nieces, aunts, etc... is just outrageous and completely disgusting.
Fascism is alive and well in America.
And the full Personhood Bill would take the plan B pill away from the rape victim so she would be stuck with what Santorum terms a "blessing". How on earth did we get here in 2012?
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