It turns out that threatening to rape people for having the temerity to ask for a legal surgical procedure is a bridge too far:
House Republican leaders are expected to try to amend a bill on Wednesday that would require women to undergo a [transvaginal] ultrasound before an abortion.
Legislators and governor’s staff met Tuesday night to hash out a compromise that would make the ultrasounds voluntary, but not mandatory, before an abortion, several people with knowledge of the meeting said Wednesday.
But lest you think that this means that the GOP has decided to treat women as full human beings, and our bodily autonomy as a matter of some concern? Read on:
[Virginia Governor Robert ] McDonnell, who held a news conference on a unrelated matter on Wednesday, declined to answer reporters’ questions about the ultrasound legislation or Tuesday night’s meeting.
“You know what I’m concerned about? I’m concerned about the budget,’’ McDonnell said as he walked away with security and aides.
If we’ve learned nothing else from the Komen and state-sanctioned-rape battles, though, I hope to God we’ve learned that raising our voices in outrage makes a difference.
The battle continues.
Crossposted at Emily L. Hauser In My Head.
And finally a victory…woohooo!!! Thanks for the great news, ABL :)
on the other hand:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-bc-il-xgr–abortionrestrictions,0,7613145.story
Well yes.
12,087 battles to go.
Unfortunately, there’s still plenty of other slut-shaming (as Charles Johnson at LGF so aptly puts it) material in this bill. Hell, the fact that there’s a bill at all is unacceptable. It’s good that VA seems to be backing down on this, at the very least, but the fact that VA was even there in the first place is, and will remain, profoundly troubling.
Yep – all the more reason to keep raising our voices and continue with the battle.
Yeah, its still gonna be an ultrasound, and they’re still gonna try to shame you into keeping it, so this bill is still shit.
And Bobby, if you actually gave a damn about he budget, you wouldn’t have let your legislature go nucking futs on this bullshit. You folded, because this made you look real bad, and defending it made you look real bad.
But, you still gotta appeal to your nutcase base, so, I guess you gotta go forward