Women of America [Edit]

I'm not understanding something and am hoping you can explain it to me. Why is the requirement that a woman have an ultrasound before having an abortion so upsetting to you? I'd think that someone who feels as strongly about women's rights as you seem to would appreciate this initiative, which allows women to make informed decisions, rather than being tricked into doing something they may regret later. I'd love to hear your input on this.

For one, it is a trans-vaginal ultrasound. Inserting a foreign object into a person's vagina without consent is rape. (that right there should be enough) Secondly, it is the responsibility of the patient to pay for the ultrasound, which for some is just more money that they don't have. Lastly, the mandatory ultrasounds are being used as a way to shame women who are choosing to abort and it just causes more emotional distress. No one hours into an abortion light-heartedly and giddy. What exactly is the medical necessity in forcing ultrasounds?

*goes into (not hours)

It is just the lack of consent that is the problem? I had multiple trans-vaginal ultrasounds before my pregnancy ended. No one asked me if I wanted one. They just told me that they needed to do a trans-vaginal ultrasound to get a proper look.

Also, pap smears require foreign objects to be inserted into the vagina (they insert a speculum so they can insert MORE things in). It's a required procedure before you can get a prescription for birth control.

Also, at what point are they doing the ultrasound before the abortion? Like I said, I had multiple trans-vaginal ultrasounds before my pregnancy ended, but the day I had the D&C, no ultrasound was done (at least not while I was conscious).

I like to think there is a difference between rape and performing value medical procedures. In my case, it was a potentially life saving procedure.

But perhaps I was raped this past March because I couldn't get a birth control script without a pap smear (and the associated physical). The nurse practioner also insisted on molesting my breasts to check for lumps.

All about perspective, I guess.

What is the value of the ultrasound before an abortion? It is not a necessary medical procedure. Before this bill thousands of abortions were performed without trans-vaginal ultrasounds being administered.

The value is that it will allow women to make informed decisions. Believe it or not, there are still people who are being told that it's just "a clump of cells" by certain clinics who have a financial interest in convincing patients to abort. An ultrasound would allow the woman to see exactly what it is she is aborting before it happens. This could put a stop to the crushing depression that some women go through when they discover (too late) what they've actually allowed someone to do to their child.

Yeah, except that 6 in 10 women who are having abortions already have children, so they have all (likely) gone through ultrasounds before and aware of what is going on inside their bodies. source The claim that "some women" come under severe depression is not enough to convince me that this is necessary, as the claim is grossly exagerated. In fact, a Danish study found that the incidence of depression after abortion didn't increase but .5% after abortion, but actually DID increase after women experienced childbirth and kept their baby. source. Believe it or not, women are not as stupid as you presume. I'd venture to guess that most women know that when they get pregnant, they will eventually end up with a baby. The thing is, not everyone agrees on when the rights of that embryo, or clump of cells even, should trump those of the woman. Apparently there are those who believe that as soon as you copulate you give up the right to bodily autonomy. After all, sluts should be punished for enjoying sex and not wanting a baby from it. The long and short of bills like these is that anti-choicers want to shame women for making a choice that is perfectly legal, and has been for quite a while. It shouldn't be necessary to prolong an experience for a woman who is already making an extremely difficult decision. Like I said before, people don't go into an abortion with a shrug and a whistle. If you don't like abortion, don't have one. It's nobody's place to try and take that choice away from someone else.

Perspective indeed! Some doctors require ultrasounds for the abortion procedure, opting to do an ultrasound-guided abortion. Sometimes the gestational age requires it too! Are those women "raped" too? You'd think that our fellow women would be more careful with the concept of rape and refrain from using the term when it is dramatically convenient to do so.

Fiat

If there is a medical need for a trans-vaginal ultrasound, the doctor should perform one. However, this is not the case for every single abortion, so why legislate on the issue and make it mandatory for all procedures if not to coerce a woman who, in all likelihood, is experiencing trauma (an unwanted pregnancy is a traumatic event, and we're not even considering the circumstances in which this pregnancy might have ocurred!) and a rush of hormones into carrying a pregnancy to term?

Madeline Rain

Thank God Santorum is out of the running! And I can't stand a lot of Republicans because they have really old/ancient view points and think women and gay people should not have rights. It's ridiculous as crap.

I totally agree with you that people are going back in time with their thinking. It's more of the older people but also if they pass those values and thoughts down onto their families, they are going to believe that stuff too and it is so not right.

~ Wild One ~

Entries like this make me thankful that I'm not American (no offence). I know England isn't exactly perfect but this stuff is terrifying... your country scares the crap out of me sometimes. I hope that none of this stuff happens.

Hear hear (from Canada...)