Is a Proposed Virginia Ultrasound Law Actually State-Sponsored Rape?
Earlier this month in Virginia, a proposed bill requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before they can receive an abortion passed the state senate and recently cleared a state house committee.
However, the bill will force most women to undergo an invasive procedure of vaginal penetration by a foreign object, which some critics are calling state-sponsored rape.
Dahlia Lithwick writes on Slate.com:
Because the great majority of abortions occur during the first 12 weeks, that means most women will be forced to have a transvaginal procedure, in which a probe is inserted into the vagina, and then moved around until an ultrasound image is produced.
Since a proposed amendment to the bill—a provision that would have had the patient consent to this bodily intrusion or allowed the physician to opt not to do the vaginal ultrasound—failed on 64-34 vote, the law provides that women seeking an abortion in Virginia will be forcibly penetrated for no medical reason.
I am not the first person to note that under any other set of facts, that would constitute rape under state law.
As an unnamed lawmaker told a fellow Virginia delegate, a woman already consented to being “vaginally penetrated when they got pregnant.”
UPDATE: On her St. Louis radio show, Dana Loesch slammed "progressives" and compared a trans-vaginal ultrasound with a foreign object to normal "sexual intercourse."
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Holy crap! Do any of you actually understand the purpose of a vaginal ultrasound prior to an abortion? It's because prior to a certain point in the pregnancy an abdominal ultrasound will not confirm pregnancy. After that point an abdominal ultrasound will do just fine. Do we really want a woman to undergo an abortion procedure if she isn't pregnant?
Wow, you all are focused on this so much you forget that she is there to HAVE AN ABORTION. She is going to get something put in that area anyway and it won't be pleasant. You do know how an abortion is performed, right?
- The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.-
Rape: is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent.
The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent.
The State would be committing rape by color of authority. The insertion of the probe into a women's vagina is the definition of rape.
Chuck
It is rape! Just like abortion is state supported murder.
And your a fool.
Chuck
State-supported murder? Only in the opinion of the religious reich that want to force their sick, twisted views on everyone else.
If freedom means anything, it is the liberty to tell others what they do not want to hear.
Forcing a woman to expose her private parts let alone to be invaded is absolutely rape. I'm sick of debasing unoriginal lines such as "She should've kept her legs closed. if use didn't want to become pregnant." It isn't as simple as that. Sex isn't cynical for some rather it's an exchange between two people who love each other. Contraception isn't foolproof. Zygotes and blastocysts don't have rights. They don't even have minds.
I simply must take issue with Cloak N. Dagr's alleged statistics! You show us the professional, peer-reviewed research that shows what you are claiming, or you have lost all credibility. As Mark Twain was fond of reminding us: "There are lies, damn lies and statistics!"
@med-ethx22: It fits the very definition of rape by color of authority.
The World Health Organization defined rape in 2002 as "physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration – even if slight – of the vulva or anus, using a penis, other body parts or an object".
Chuck
Or as my father told me, "Figures don't lie, but liars can figure."
If freedom means anything, it is the liberty to tell others what they do not want to hear.
It's nothing short of state-sponsored rape. Forcing a woman to undergo an invasive, intimate procedure such as this against her will is rape, plain and simple. It's just another smoke screen for anti-choicers to restrict access to safe, legal abortions.
As I've always said, the anti-choice stance is rooted purely in religion. There are no secular reasons against legalized abortion. Period, end of story.