Riot Police Arrest 31 Protestors against Forced Ultrasound
The Virginia state Legislature passed
a bill that would require women to have an ultrasound before they
may have an abortion. Because the majority of abortions occur during the first
12 weeks, most women would be forced to have a transvaginal ultrasound in which a probe is inserted into her,
and then moved around until an ultrasound image is made. A proposed amendment to
the bill that would have had a patient consent to this intrusion or allowed the physician to
opt out of doing the vaginal ultrasound failed. So
the law basically states that women seeking an abortion in Virginia will be
forcibly penetrated for no medical reason whatsoever. Similar to rape…
Some
women are weary of going to the gynecologist’s office for a routine exam
because it’s not the most pleasant experience so I’m not sure why they are
forcing this law if there truly is no medical reason for it. Their only goal is
to hope maternal instincts kick in right at that point or the women are made to
feel guilt and pressured into it backing down from their well thought out
decision.
There
was a protest made over the woman’s health care bill passed by the state Senate
which brought hundreds of women and men of varying ages to Richmond, Virginia
to the state Capitol grounds on March 3rd. It ended with the arrest of
31 people who were seated on the Capitol steps.
The bill would have most likely be enacted into law by the
governor, Bob McDonnell, who is trying for a gig as vice president and had already indicated that he will sign
the bill but it hasn’t been signed yet. Originally, it did require a
transvaginal ultrasound but then they decided on an abdominal one instead. This
is slightly less intrusive but still a violation of rights.
The
whole thing violates a woman’s right, as well as her relationship with her
doctor and it’s clearly unethical. Legislators are acting as if women don’t
understand the gravity of the situation and are essentially making the decision
even more of a hardship. Women don’t have abortions because they believe the
fetus isn’t human or they don’t know the truth. It’s insulting to think that they
are blissfully unaware and need to be shown the “right way” to handle it.
Regardless
of your stance on abortion, you must be aware that there are special circumstances
where abortion while being unfavorable would be the best option overall. What
if you had a fourteen-year old daughter who was raped? Would you want to
further her traumatic experience by taking her to a government forced
ultrasound to guilt her into keeping the fetus? Is it her responsibility to
feel that child who was completely unplanned and is the result of another man’s
force growing inside of her?
Shaina
Jacob
No comments:
Post a Comment