Michigan Republicans Introduce Bill Mandating Transvaginal Ultrasound Before An Abortion

[Tx4obama]

Source: Talking Points Memo

Michigan Republicans have introduced a bill requiring all women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound before obtaining an abortion, a move that rekindles last year’s firestorm when other GOP-led states were considering similar measures.

The legislation introduced Tuesday in the state House ensures the “performance of a diagnostic ultrasound examination of the fetus at least two hours before an abortion is performed” and requires her to sign a consent form prior to the abortion. The bill was introduced by state Rep. Joel Johnson (R) and cosponsored by 22 fellow lawmakers.

Johnson was not available for comment Wednesday, but his legislative aide, Ben Frederick, confirmed to TPM that, while the legislation does not specifically mention transvaginal ultrasounds, the bill aims to require women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound prior to receiving an abortion.

Katie Carey, a spokeswoman for Michigan’s House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel, categorically said the bill would mandate transvaginal ultrasounds for women before an abortion.


Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/02/michigan-republicans-introduce-bill-mandating-transvaginal-ultrasound-before-abortion.php

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Additional article with image on the following link:
Michigan GOP Would Force Women To Undergo Invasive Ultrasounds Before Getting An Abortion
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/02/06/1552881/michigan-transvaginal-ultrasound/


The 'War on Women' is real.

Everyone in the USA must stand up and say NO.

Enough is enough!

[erinlough]

1. And in Michigan it will pass :(

Unfortunately they can pass anything they wish and they do without any consideration to what people want. Michigan should be an example to all states of what happens when republicans get all the control. I hate these guys.

[abq e streeter]

17. These a-holes won their elections. Frighteningly, this obviously iS what the people want.

The majority of voters anyway. Disgusting, but the people spoke. What they chose was beyond despicable, but they were given an opportunity to elect other candidates and chose these ones.

[Ken Burch]

23. Do we KNOW if that's what the people want?

Or are the GOP majorities in the Michigan House and Senate the result of gerrymandering?

Does anyone happen to know the overall popular vote breakdown in the Michigan legislative races this year?

Michigan voted for Obama and re-elected a Democratic senator, so it's weird to think that those same voters would prefer a GOP lock on state government. That would be damn near schizophrenic.

[roguevalley]

54. I think I'll make a map of places I want to go that will never see a penny of my money

Michigan follows Texas and Virginia

It is a sad day that sticking a stick up a woman's vagina takes priority over everything else. There is something wrong with a lot of men in this country. Treasure the good ones. They appear to be either a dying species or too silent for all our own good.

[abq e streeter]

61. Sadly, not just men...Lots of good enlightened progressive men, and lots of women who

vote for these vile SOB's. By the millions...upon millions......Here in NM it was a woman legislator who submitted that utterly sick bill to criminalize a woman and her health care providers for aborting a pregnancy from rape. Enlightened awareness is present in both genders, and ignorance, hate and cruel pettiness exist within both too.

[alp227]

67. If Snyder even thinks about signing this monstrosity,

Michigan will OFFICIALLY have earned the nickname "Michissippi". It was bad enough with the ambush right-to-work legislation. But RTW is so common it's not distinguishable to any specific state but rather to all the ex-Confederate states as well as some of the more conservative Plains & Rocky states. However the Mississippi state government has pretty much been infiltrated by the Religious Right, hell the governor of that state even boasted his goal was to shut down the last abortion clinic in his state. Hence "Michissippi".

Given Michigan's sudden right ward tilt I don't know if I should be embarrassed that I lived in Ann Arbor for a few years as a young boy.

[Purveyor]

2. This will pass in the House and Senate. Only hope of stopping it is with repuke Gov. Synder.

He is sucking up as of late to the Dems in order to get his 'fee increase' for his road projects.

[MichiganVote]

15. Right To Be Invasive Snyder will give in but lie about it first.

[Purveyor]

18. No doubt he is a 'proven liar', indeed. eom

[BlueJazz]

3. I'd be all for it if the Women have to also spin around 3 times and click their heels.

Then the entire thing will be totally ridiculous.

[azurnoir]

4. the real purpose according to the article is-

"The purpose, according to the text of the legislation, is to provide “consumer protection” to women and “ensure fully informed consent to the abortion.”

I call utter BS on that the real purpose IMO is to make abortion as traumatic and emotionally wrenching for the woman as possible

not to mention in my experience the trans-vaginal ultrasound is hardly the end all for diagnosing pregnancy I under went one 13 years ago to see if I was pregnant 3 pregnancy tests had come back +,-,+ in that order but I was having symptoms of not being pregnant so the ultrasound was done I was pronounced not pregnant that was proven quite wrong when a couple of hours after getting home I miscarried and had to be rushed to the ER

[Ilsa]

52. And to make it as expensive as possible. nt

[Dont call me Shirley]

5. Way to go MI gop morans!

[Ian David]

6. This needs to be accompanied by a bill requiring a prostate exam to receive Viagra. n/t

[obama2terms]

10. I agree 100%

I hope women in MI protest this as the women did in VA. It's a sad sad thing but hopefully it'll make the women of Michigan think twice before they don't vote in local elections.

[MichiganVote]

16. +1. Absolutely.

[They_Live]

20. Yes.

Better yet, a prostate exam for each dose of Viagra.

[greymattermom]

31. transrectal utrasound prostate exam

to receive viagra

[kardonb]

42. prostate

how about a mandatory annual colonoscopy , and I don't mean the virtual kind, but the good old fashioned kind , without any pain killers .

[decrepittex]

45. Good Idea?

Sounds like a good idea but some of those old Farts probably like a little action in that area.

[davidpdx]

60. And mandatory prostate exams for all Michigan legislators

Bend over and cough

[Mr.Bill]

7. Republicans want government to be small.

Small enough to fit in a vagina, apparently.

[mbperrin]

28. Yep, Texas Guberalles Perry led the way on that one.

I keep thinking any day that we'll also get a Marriage Inspection Agency to make sure none of those black you-know-whats tries to marry a white woman!

I only wish I thought that couldn't actually happen.

I always thought that some minimum brain function was required to sustain life, but that was obviously wrong....

[Eleanors38]

77. Damn, beat me to it. I heard it from a Texas legislator first.

[BVictor1]

8. These bastards just won't quit.

[blkmusclmachine]

9. One statehouse at a time, Theocracy in any guise

[noiretextatique]

11. Team Rape is at it again

[Botany]

12. and even w/ gerrymandering and republicans in control MI will stay solidly blue

Locking up the women's vote against republicans for generations is what they
are doing ..... nothing more and nothing less.

[magic59]

13. Michigan keeps voting in republicons so

they get what they deserve.

[Monk06]

14. Non medical uses of this device should be classed as sexual assault punishable

by existing punishments, in addition to the loss of the clinician's license.

[Canuckistanian]

63. I agree!

And this law is not in any way intended to promote female medical health!

This is a religious faction trying to impose control of women, using the blunt force of government.

[Ed Suspicious]

19. If the rapists don't get you the republicans will. Stay safe ladies. (These people are animals) nt

[awake]

21. An amendment needs to be added to the bill requiring an Anal Ultrasound of the prostrate

before men are allowed to buy Viagra or a refill of same.

[smirkymonkey]

87. Hear, hear!

[W T F]

22. So much for their "Keep the Government outa my heath care" tag line

"Smaller government" except when they're in power.

[Cal Carpenter]

24. This is a personal *medical* decision, not a political one

Keep your fucking laws out of this shit.

Arrrggghhhhhh

[Fuddnik]

25. I thought they were going to stop being stupid.

[SoapBox]

26. Mandating Rape.

...we need to introduce a bill, requiring the old "Army Doctor Check", with something like the ultra-sounding device, for men.

For whatever reason.

[derby378]

27. We already have this in Texas

The teabaggers down here just couldn't wait for the Lege to convene so they could introduce this bill.

[PatrynXX]

29. Also known as legal sodomy

I think any GUY voting on this should have said ultrasound prepped and ready to shove it up his asshole...

[smirkymonkey]

88. Thank YOU!

I will second that.

[lindysalsagal]

30. They're hoping to put the remaining abortion providers out of business

with the reduction of abortions due to women going out of state, and with the extra expenses this would incur for facilities and women.

Interesting, that the "it won't do any good to try" argument makes sense to the gun lovers, when this won't stop any abortions, it will just send many of them out of state.

Funny how they'll pass this anyway, even though it "won't do any good."

[greymattermom]

32. old equipment

THey should use really old equipment that can't provide an image anyway. Does the bill specify the exact resolution required?

[Angry Dragon]

33. How come no one introduces a bill requiring a trans-penile ultrasound to get Viagra??

[libdude]

34. Don't believe the Republican hype, they have not changef

The current attempt by the Republicans to show a new face is just hype, just to give marginal voters the impression that they have gotten the message of the 2012 election. Michigan gives clear evidence that they are still the same.

[onehandle]

35. Great! Push it in all 50 states. Ladies? Are you paying attention? nt

[Crepuscular]

36. Fundie nutjobs

are the ones promoting this, West Michigan is full of them.

[Deep13]

37. MI Rs trying to make sure they never win another election. nt

[another_liberal]

38. There should be an amendment . . .

There should be an amendment attached to that bill which would require men to have a full, gloved-hand-up-the-rectum prostrate exam each time they want to get their viagra prescriptions refilled. You know, just to make sure they understand the risks involved.

Then let's see how many votes it gets.

[kickysnana]

39. Practicing medicine without a license, knowledge, sanity or human compassion.

[Maraya1969]

40. Each GOP legislator must submit to an anal prob as a requirement before legislation

is passed just to show empathy toward the women they intent to affect. I see this as nothing but equal treatment for all.

[longship]

41. How can they discuss this bill without saying vagina!!!!!!

The penalized women legislators earlier last year for daring to say vagina on the floor.

Now they have a bill that has the insidious word in it?

Unbelievable.

[KansDem]

43. Where are the guns?

Here is government forcing its way into women's vaginas and there is no outcry about tyranny?

[Skittles]

44. government small enough to fit in a vagina

[Faygo Kid]

46. The GOP has gone nuts in my home state

The Michigan GOP of Bill Milliken, Gerald Ford and other moderate Republicans has gone bonkers. This will not stand in Michigan.

[classof56]

47. Absolutely! I agree! Enough is enough and I stand up to say NO!

Mostly, I'm glad I'm post-menopausal and I live nowhere near Michigan.

Teh crazy just doesn't stop!

[rocktivity]

48. Domestic terrorism.

Thank you and good night.


rocktivity

[AsahinaKimi]

49. How is this even constitutional ?

Making it a mandatory medical procedure ?? WHAT OTHER MEDICAL PROCEDURE IS MANDATORY in this country? I don't know of any? You have the right to refuse any medical procedure.. NOW, SUDDENLY YOU DON'T? What happened to Patients Rights?

MEH.

Maybe we should pass a law that All Politicians need to have their head examined.

[Tx4obama]

51. Maybe if Michigan passes this and the Gov signs it, then it can to all the way to the SCOTUS

and then the court can put a stop to this nonsense once and for all.

[smirkymonkey]

85. +1000

Good point.

[alp227]

50. As mike malloy would say, this is STATE SANCTIONED RAPE

[grahamhgreen]

70. +1

[Ilsa]

53. Like in Michigan must be good if the Lege doesn't have more

Pressing issues to debate.

Of course, we all know that it's part of the war on abortion and the war on Women.

[alp227]

55. State Sen. Lisa Brown nailed it last summer:

"Finally Mr. Speaker, I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but 'no' means 'no.'"

So I'd like Brown or one of the Dem women legislators to require men to become sperm donors before a vasectomy or something like that and mug the Republi-CON men with their own stupidity.

[davidpdx]

62. The problem is most men would like that too much

A room with a dirty magazine and a cup. I'm not sure you can call that punishment.

[alp227]

65. OK, then how about having 'em watch a VIDEO of the operation

or have some kind of equivalent to the ultrasound.

[davidpdx]

66. I think the legislators should be shown a video of what a trans-vaginal ultrasound looks like

before they vote. Maybe that would shake loose enough votes to cause it to fail.

[ReRe]

56. Does anyone know...

...the reason for this invasive humiliating procedure? What's the logic behind it? And I mean the actual medical reason.

[AngryOldDem]

72. There is NO medical reason in this instance.

This is just one more punishing guilt trip that conservative legislators want to lay on women who want to exercise their right to an abortion.

I underwent a trangsvaginal ultrasound, twice, several years ago: Once to diagnose a suspected miscarriage-in-progress and then to check on another very early pregnancy. Both instances were medically indicated, but I tell you, those things scarred me psychologically. They are heinous. There really are no words to describe it -- to this day I have a visceral reaction.

Mandating transvaginals certainly IS legalizing rape. And the thing is, at the stage of pregnancy when they are most used, you really don't see a lot of the fetus. Perhaps a faint heartbeat, but certainly not the kind of images you get from an abdominal scan ultrasound that is done later on. That's another reason why these things are just plain cruel and unnecessary.

Whenever I read this kind of story about clueless, dumbfuck male lawmakers who want to foist this on women, I just get sick to my stomach. I know what those things did to my peace of mind. I can't imagine what it's like to be forced to have one.

[ReRe]

74. Thank you...

So if you are getting an abortion in Michigan, there is absolutely NO reason for one of these types of exams. UNLESS, the state mandates that you be harassed afterward for having the gall to even ask for a legal guaranteed safe abortion because you want to control your own life. And then to add insult to the injury, they will probably mandate that YOU pay for the raping procedure.

Let me tell you what I think: Irregardless of what state, all laws that are meant as a roadblock to abortion need to be struck down. Period. And all women in any state have a right to have a fucking tubal ligation on demand if she wants it. No lectures, no ifs, ands or butts.

I hope you found an OB/GYN that doesn't use these unnecessary probes, AngryOldDem.

[AngryOldDem]

80. If I'm told I have to have one again....

...I will get a second opinion and then still think long and hard about it. There are some viable reasons to have a transvaginal -- to diagnose issues with the ovaries and such, as well as in pregnancies like mine...but to force a woman to have one as a precondition to exercising a right she has under the law...no way.

[noiretextatique]

78. the only "reason" for this is to humiliate women

there is no medical necessity for this.

[smirkymonkey]

86. Thank YOU!

That is it exactly. What f***ing pigs!

[louslobbs]

57. I suggest that along with the prostate exam in order to get a Viagra prescription, a camera

be inserted, deeply into the urethra, in order to rule out any blockages that may be the cause of the persistent flaccidity and erectile dysfunction. Again, this would be in addition to the prostate exam, and with one other condition, that being, no lubricant of any kind will be allowed to assist in said mandatory exams. The Republican War on Women will continue it seems, as long as they can "maintain" the power to conduct such wars with impunity.
Lou

[BootinUp]

58. Michigan Gopers are on a roll!

and its downhill,cause all this shit is gonna come back and bite them in the ass.

[Socal31]

59. How about they get at transcranial ultrasound before they can discuss women's rights?

[truthisfreedom]

64. A female Dem HAS to introduce a requisite prostate exam before Viagra/Cialis prescription renewal.

Renewal. Every time.

[DeSwiss]

68. Let's do your.....

Johnson first, Rep. Joel Johnson.


- I blame the pollution in Lake Michigan. It's always the water.....

K&R

[grahamhgreen]

69. It is RAPE pure and simple.

[freshwest]

71. Will there be angry crowds outside the capitol denouncing this as with the RTL law?

[Tx4obama]

75. I hope so. n/t

[tclambert]

73. How do you define "forcible rape" again?

How about when legislators require vaginal penetration against a woman's will, with the threat of jail time if she resists?

[noiretextatique]

79. sounds like rape to me

rape by the state.

[HockeyMom]

76. Who gets to view the ultrasound of an 11 year old rape victim?

The little girl? Her parents? Her FATHER? I know the Dad of my friend, who was raped at 11, would have killed the rapist with his bare hands. If she had gotten pregnant, he would have killed the legislators, the doctor, and anyone else, who forced his baby girl to bear the spawn of a rapist. I would HOPE that the majority of MEN in this country would feel the same way if it was their wives, daughters, sisters, etc.

[smirkymonkey]

81. This is beyond f***ed up.

Can we cut their balls off already?

[ReRe]

83. Yes

[Tx4obama]

82. UPDATE * * * UPDATE on the link below *** UPDATE

Michigan’s GOP House Speaker Rules Out Transvaginal Ultrasound Bill

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014393299

One VICTORY in the War on Women

[ReRe]

84. Whew!