The bill currently being debated in Virginia's General Assembly that would mandate a transvaginal ultrasound be performed on all women prior to undergoing an abortion is noteworthy for a handful of reasons. For one, it's forced me to listen to both Ed Schultz and Al Sharpton, among others, say the word "transvaginal" on television way more times than I ever wanted to.
For another, it's now forced Virginia's adamantly pro-life governor Bob McDonnell to go on record against it. This is especially interesting because McDonnell's representatives have been much more vague with regard to another current bill that defines a fetus as a person from the moment of conception--which seems to me to be much more extreme ideologically--and because McDonnell is a potential Vice Presidential pick for the eventual Republican nominee, and the last thing the current Republican electorate wants to hear is nuance, especially on something like abortion.
In any event, his statement today requested that the bill be amended to require only a non-invasive "surface" ultrasound, which I have a feeling people will still complain about, but the assembly went ahead and passed that version just a little while ago. I wonder what all this means for the personhood bill.
(Side Note: for the next two weeks, I am conducting a survey of visitors to this blog. Whether you're a regular reader or this is your first time, I'd love to hear from you - just follow this link. This notice will accompany every post this month, with Saturday, March 3rd being the final day to participate. Thanks for reading!)
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