rawstory.com — On his show Tuesday night, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart blasted controversial legislation expected to be passed by the Virginia legislature that would require women seeking an abortion undergo a medically unnecessary trans-vaginal ultrasound.
Feb 22, 2012 View in Crawl 4
laurahoustonFeb 22, 2012
It's against the law in Va to protest, make any noise outside the capitial building in Va. so here are people standing silent.
***Over 1000 people showed up at the capitol yesterday to silently protest a number of bills attacking women's reproductive rights. It was humbling to see so many out**** heres a video- http://vimeo.com/37197923
treehugger87Feb 22, 2012
Awesome video. The lack of shouting makes it that much more meaningful. Thank you, Virginians, for standing up for ALL of us.
scabnabbitFeb 22, 2012
"It's against the law in Va to protest, make any noise outside the capitial building in Va."
Anyone have a link for this? I couldn't find anything with a search and I'd like to fully read any info available.
laurahoustonFeb 22, 2012
Go to the Va. State Capitol gov website and it's in their ground rules.
The Capitol ground rules say that peoplecannot assemble, hold signs, chant, yell or protest.
bcarl314Feb 22, 2012
Seems to be a pretty blatant violation of the first amendment.
dollar0dot02Feb 23, 2012
Just go to VA and in front of capital building shout loudly Purple Donkey Elephant sucks a huge dick. Then come here a let us know how it went.
renderedlifeFeb 22, 2012
You have the freedom of speech ... so long as you don't try to exercise it in front of a building that's supposed to uphold that freedom of speech.
user500Feb 23, 2012
I'm curious how that isn't a violation of free speech given bribing politicos is free speech.
mtownFeb 23, 2012
it IS a violation of free speech, but a lot of things are backwards in Virginia.
roofviewFeb 22, 2012
Jon Stewart did an excellent job is pointing out the twisted mind of a Republican. Good job well done.
ninhFeb 22, 2012
Let's amend a requirement to get a rectal exam for a Viagra prescription and it will be impossible to pass.
fitzal77Feb 22, 2012
Tried and failed:
http://digg.com/news/politics/virginia_lawmaker_tries_to_attach_rectal_exam_provision_to_anti_abortion_bill_the_raw_story
jpurdyFeb 22, 2012
16th century religious fanatics only had water, fire and tools to try to force confessions from non-believers. 21st century religious fanatics have sonogram probes and computer imaging.
The Inquisition lasted from 1478 to 1834. Santorum and the today's religious (/s) social fascists want to bring it back.
miklkitFeb 22, 2012
The Inquisition never actually stopped. They just changed their name and methods. In fact one of their leaders, named Rattinger, became Pope.
anomaly100Feb 22, 2012
While reading comments here on Digg, I was wondering why the same people that hate the TSA feel that state rape is acceptable.
inajeepFeb 22, 2012
I am done being amazed at the way a GOP/TPers mind twists things to make down right wrong things seem right. The compartmentalization, the cognizant dissidence on their thought processes while trying to redirect the argument or just plan deny the noses on their faces reminds me of groundhog day.
anomaly100Feb 22, 2012
I've never seen such deflection as with this lot. Ah digg, you so crazy!
treehugger87Feb 22, 2012
It just builds on top of their current level of cognitive dissonance
Closed AccountFeb 22, 2012
Not coincidentally, those are also the same people who thought no amount of security was too much (unless it prevented them from making a buck) when Bush was running the country.
CrashingDownFeb 22, 2012
@Anomaly100 (Rick) - I hate the TSA and i think this legislation is absurd. Why must you paint everything w/ such a broad brush?
anomaly100Feb 23, 2012
Hi Rick! I was referring to the digg users that hate the TSA and advocate the State Rape bill. Not you, you silly Goose.
Signed.
Rick
CrashingDownFeb 23, 2012
Thanks for the clarification Rick,
Best Regards,
Rick :)
UncleRuckuFeb 22, 2012
people aka pro-life who think that Virginia Ultrasound law is good they should have to get esophagoscopy anal probes and a Lobotom.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c8Q3YriQD_Y/Ta7r9S1n5wI/AAAAAAAAMm4/lE4c-rdw0K0/s1600/anal-probe.jpg
Religion easily has the greatest bullsh!t story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time...But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, you talk about a good bullsh!t story. Holy Sh!t! George Carlin
Most of the stories in the Bible were taken from older Egyptian, Babylonian, and Greek mythologies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o
BluntzworthFeb 24, 2012
I will digg you up every time you post a George Carlin quote. His commentary on our society is ageless and will always be relevent, in fact, I think his statements about Terrorism, National Security and the GOP are more relevant now then when he originally made them.
dauntless1Feb 22, 2012
Correction: The ultrasound is more likely to find a terrorist than the TSA ever will be.
tehravenFeb 23, 2012
"BREAKING NEWS: Terrorist attempting to enter the country were located using trans-vaginal ultrasound . . . More at 11."
C'monnnnnnnnnn 11!
theswashbucklerFeb 22, 2012
The hypocrisy of Virginia Republicans is astounding, even for Republicans.
ObaAdeleFeb 23, 2012
Great one for a party that whims all the time about the so-called overreach by fed, it turns out they want govt everywhere as long as they re in power.
steve8867Feb 22, 2012
WHY has this nonsense not crippled the air travel industry??
WHY are so many willing to sell our freedoms merely for the illusion of safety??
nutsofactoFeb 22, 2012
I understand the argument that more access to birth control should lead to fewer unwanted pregnancies should lead to fewer abortions. (Win-win-win.)
I am not sure I follow the logic that hypothesizes that this bill will be an effective way to reduce abortions. Is it that abortions will now be more expensive, so fewer women/couples will be able to afford it? Is there hope that more women will be shamed into carrying on the pregnancy?
Those tactics don't do anything to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and as a result, don't seem likely to significantly affect the rate of abortions. So what's the real purpose of the bill?
dauntless1Feb 22, 2012
"I am not sure I follow the logic that hypothesizes that this bill will be an effective way to reduce abortions. Is it that abortions will now be more expensive, so fewer women/couples will be able to afford it? Is there hope that more women will be shamed into carrying on the pregnancy? "
Yep. These idiots mistakenly think they have the right to judge complete strangers, to the extent of shaming them into making life decisions they don't want to make.
michrechFeb 22, 2012
Judging of others, which ironically enough, is directly against their religion... Sometimes, you just gotta wonder...
nitoriFeb 23, 2012
"In Nibbler's from futurama's voice."
Indeed it is against their own religion and the irony is most people who are such out spoken Christians are by the rules in their own religious texts are worse Christians then many Atheists,Buddhists,Hindus,Muslims,and Pagens.
BluntzworthFeb 24, 2012
Absolute truth and you get more points for using Nibbler's voice.
BluntzworthFeb 24, 2012
No you do have to wonder, because you know it for fact that most are complete hypocrites.
iprintallFeb 22, 2012
So these assh**es can get up their high horse and tell everyone how cruel these women are. It will be part of their campaign process, trust me. These people live their lives by numbers and use those numbers to make bulls**t statements when it's these exact kind of laws that create the numbers to begin with. Actual people have little to do with these assh**es realities.
johnnysoftwareFeb 23, 2012
I guess if it is pleasant then it would lead to more abortions and if it is unpleasant then it is an abusive human rights violation.
It adds to cost of healthcare, stress on females, and spikes the cost of cross infections of patients by staff or other patients. At this point, everyone has heard of cases where even government run clinics were infecting patients by "missed" sterilization procedures for equipment.
It's a bizarre law and hopefully, the lady who proposed it and her clique will get more scrutiny. Their motives seem unclean or unclear at best.
cybersaurFeb 24, 2012
The real purpose of the bill is to punish women seeking an abortion by forcibly raping them.
sabz5150Feb 22, 2012
Dear fellow Virginians:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/12/deeds-hammers-mcdonnell-thesis-va-governors-debate/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26630.html
WE. TOLD. YOU. SO.
Sincerely, those of us who voted for Deeds.
aaparkyFeb 23, 2012
Virginia-you're doing a great job of pulling yourself right back into the human rights crosshairs you have worked so hard to escape.
chassupFeb 22, 2012
99 percent of abortion facilities-- always or sometimes use vaginal ultrasounds before surgical abortion — while just one percent did not.
"If Planned Parenthood and abortion advocates truly believe giving women an ultrasound is similar to rape, they should be up front about the fact that women are “raped” before virtually every abortion performed in the United States. The real question is whether women will be allowed to see an ultrasound, not whether they will be required to have one — Planned Parenthood and independent abortion facilities already essentially require it."
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/02/22/planned-parenthood-rape-myth-debunked-99-do-ultrasounds/Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
magghuindiaFeb 23, 2012
Law should be strict.
http://sarkaaree-naukri.blogspot.in/
connormatthews2222Feb 23, 2012
I Think abortion should be banned
anonimo99992000Feb 23, 2012
why?
nihilFeb 22, 2012
Let's ignore that Virginia's Planned Parenthood abortion process is to first. . .get an ultrasound. Don't let that pesky reality get in the way of liberal, knee-jerk over reaction when abortion is brought up.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
novenatorFeb 22, 2012
First of all, citation needed. Cons can't be trusted to tell the truth. Even IF that would be true, There's a difference between a suggested procedure and a GOVERNMENT MANDATED forced injection of an object up a womans vag.
auditortuxFeb 22, 2012
Nov, as little as you even provide anything close to resembling citations, you have some nerve asking for one.
What he's talking about is for a surgical abortion (and PP doesn't perform those, but rather issues references). For those, typically two appointments are required. During the first, there are a set of tests that are performed (blood tests, etc) and one of them is an ultrasound. The main purpose is to make sure the woman is actually pregnant, but also that she isn't too far along to legally perform the abortion.
This whole hubbub really seems to be a tempest in a bottle. Even if it passes, pro-choice advocates will find a judge to issue an injunction. VA will appeal and it'll wind to the Appeals Court, who will most likely throw out the law based on Roe v Wade. The SCOTUS won't take it, just like it won't take most others.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
inajeepFeb 22, 2012
We do know why the legislation was passed right? Who passed it?
This was not a medically induced law.
anomaly100Feb 22, 2012
Let's make a deal then, OK? If we (women) are mandated by the govt to have an object shoved up our vaginas, then men have to have one shoved up their ass. Deal?
kcast985Feb 22, 2012
we already do get something shoved up our ass its called a prostate exam
dauntless1Feb 22, 2012
Are you required to get one for viagra? You should be. That's just as MEDICALLY irrelevant as this is.
kcast985Feb 22, 2012
a prostate exam is medically irrelevant are you that stupid
fitzal77Feb 22, 2012
Linking a transvaginal ultrasound to an abortion is as stupid as linking a prostate exam to viagra. Both are useful procedures, but don't have any relevance to their respective prescriptions.
anomaly100Feb 22, 2012
Is it mandated by the government?
Closed AccountFeb 23, 2012
Like what? a pineapple?
treehugger87Feb 22, 2012
Here is the device that is used to perform a vaginal ultrasound
http://www.absolutemed.com/Medical-Equipment/Ultrasound-Probes/GE-618E-Transvaginal-Ultrasound-Transducer-Probe
Why do you think it's long and slim like that?
michrechFeb 22, 2012
Well, first let me state I'm against State mandated policies like this one.
That said, it's most likely shaped the way it is, you know, to fit inside a vagina...probably. That'd be my guess. I'm male, and also gay, but I do know (roughly) the shape of the vaginal opening/canal... I'm pretty sure that'd fit perfectly...
I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not roughly penis shaped simply because a man may have invented it. I mean, really.. What shape would you rather it have been?
Unfortunately, the site you linked to doesn't state the dimensions of the probe, but I'd think it fair to say it's small enough to not be horridly uncomfortable when inserted...Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
treehugger87Feb 22, 2012
The point is that it IS inserted
If the woman wants it to be or not
For no medical reason
michrechFeb 22, 2012
You linked to the device, then asked, "why do you think it's shaped like that".
The way you wrote it made it sound like you were making a joke (or not) about the fact it looks very penis like, and a bunch of males passed (and very likely had their hand in writing) the law mandating use of the device.
I think you can see how what you wrote could be interpreted as juvenile humor...Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
treehugger87Feb 22, 2012
I was responding to Nihil's initial post which I felt understated the process.
"Let's ignore that Virginia's Planned Parenthood abortion process is to first. . .get an ultrasound."
This procedure is more than getting what every person visualizes when they hear "get an ultrasound". I was hoping that the device would make obvious the fact that this "ultrasound" involves more than having jelly rubbed on your belly and a medical device moved externally over it.
I don't find anything about this Virginia law funny.
miklkitFeb 22, 2012
My wife has had that and she says it hurts like hell.
rockcosmosFeb 22, 2012
Let's ignore your inherent ignorance as to both Planned Parenthood and Gynecology/Obstetrics. Reality
Here's your reality
There are a few other issues that appear to be ignored.
1. The physician is mandated to perform the test, knowing it is both unnecessary and unethical. He or she is then required to force the patient to view the results. If the patient refuses, the file is to be noted and the procedure denied.
The government is dictating medical procedure with the threat that they can review those files to check for compliance. The government threatening physicians and the patient.
2. It will be the patient required to pay for the procedure. The patient won't be able to get reimbursed for a medically unnecessary procedure adding to the hardship and burden of the patient.
3. The physician will be required to purchase equipment that is not only exorbitant in cost but a stupid and unnecessary expense that will be passed on to the patient. OR those physicians performing abortion services will refuse the expense and therefore stop providing a MEDICALLY NECESSARY and often life saving procedure. Do you even care about the rising ridiculous costs of health care. Obviously not.
The whole point of the legislation is to get in between the patient and HER physician.
So you believe there should be government in the physician;'s office standing between treatment and the patient?
No?
4. It is none of their f**king business - Not the state of VA, OK, TX, SD, ND or any other state or Federal government and, guess what. What a woman does with her body is none of your business either - you don't get a say, or a vote or even an opinion on the matter unless you have a vagina, a uterus, ovaries and a clump of cells trying to attach.
THEN and only THEN do you get a vote and that vote is only as it applies to you and only you.
Talk about knee-jerk, irrelevant reactions.
Like a dog deciding when the sun should rise on a planet 1.7 billion light years away
stubearFeb 22, 2012
An ultrasound and a vaginal ultrasound are two different things. A regular ultrasound is used to make medical decisions regarding the best way to proceed with the abortion. A vaginal ultrasound has no medical relevance to this process whatsoever and is an invasive process meant to humiliate the woman into not proceeding with the abortion.
johnnysoftwareFeb 23, 2012
Could the company who makes it have bribed the politician who proposed it, since it has no medical relevance and is an unnecessary expense + health risk ?
skywiseFeb 22, 2012
Actually I'm against both forced ultrasound and the TSA
It's the p2blogburybrigaders who are twisting their ideology into a pretzel by saying that dictating health mandates is fan-freaking-tastic but then comparing a, now mandated, medical procedure to rape because a woman's right to kill her baby trumps mandated government health concerns.
Why? Because it's an infringement of her civil liberties...
See you guys are teabaggers after all.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
countess666Feb 22, 2012
yes giving a person access to affordable healthcare and shoving a plastic prob in her vagina against her will are TOTALLY the same thing!
are you COMPLETELY off your rocker?
particleman420Feb 22, 2012
yes, completely.
markglFeb 22, 2012
So I guess the part where they also suck the baby out with a tube piece by piece is just a walk in the park right.
treehugger87Feb 22, 2012
I think you're thinking of late-term abortions.
fertilebastardFeb 22, 2012
Nope.. Vacuum Aspiration is used during the first trimester.
icwydFeb 22, 2012
And that is important because...?
markglFeb 22, 2012
Because you're trying to say that a ultrasound is somehow evil to do yet the abortion itself is ok.
dirtyfriesFeb 22, 2012
No, it's just saying that the ultrasound is unnecessary and unrelated to the abortion.
It'd be like me requiring you to get an oil change to have your tires rotated. Really makes no sense.
And on top of that, women are free to do with their bodies what they will. A ball of cells isn't.
Closed AccountFeb 22, 2012
Except abortion is legal. What those on the right are trying to do is decriminalize rape in order to obfuscate established law.
markglFeb 22, 2012
Good job kool aid, taking it to the extreme where it doesn't belong.
Closed AccountFeb 23, 2012
mark, please tell me where I'm wrong: Right wingers want to force women to undergo a medically unnecessary procedure which meets the technical definition of rape. It's an ultrasound procedure that she doesn't want and her doctor hasn't recommended. That's rape. Where exactly am I being extreme? Is it or is it not true that people on the right who would likely never second guess a woman's decision to buy a gun (or join the military and be willing to die for her country) don't think that same woman is intelligent enough to educate herself about abortion. True or false?
chilidogsFeb 22, 2012
It's not a baby.
markglFeb 22, 2012
I guess whatever makes you sleep well at night when you're head hits the pillow.
fitzal77Feb 22, 2012
Is that the procedure that was chosen by the doctor and the patient?
markglFeb 22, 2012
See the left doesn't care. Abortion is a-ok but don't you dare make someone take an ultrasound test.
dirtyfriesFeb 22, 2012
They just care about the rights of a living, breathing, free-thinking person versus a ball of cells that has absolutely no self-sustainability, ability to think, or features.
If you want to make stupid, fear-driven arguments, here's a counter one. The right doesn't care about babies once they're out of the womb. Cut medical care!
See? Stupid is as stupid does.
markglFeb 22, 2012
More stupid left rhetoric. Broken records of asinine comments of they don't care about kids, blah blah blah.
dirtyfriesFeb 22, 2012
And now you know how we feel about you.
Didn't catch at all that I deemed both those arguments stupid, did you? I thought I laid it on pretty thick.
Clearly not thicker than your head.
markglFeb 22, 2012
LOL. The deemer of digg. Sure.
Closed AccountFeb 22, 2012
No. The left thinks there are more rational ways to reduce the number of abortions in America than bullying women via government sanctioned rape.
markglFeb 22, 2012
Way to take it to the extreme.
theswashbucklerFeb 22, 2012
Take to the extreme?
That's what Virginia Republicans are doing.
particleman420Feb 22, 2012
forcing unwanted things into a womans vagina for no purpose other than humiliation isnt rape?
miklkitFeb 23, 2012
My wife is of that opinion.
brewbeauFeb 22, 2012
Extreme? Like, "abortion is murder!" or "we have a genocide going on in this country, against the unborn!"
jpurdyFeb 22, 2012
Exactly, supporting education,counseling, women's healthcare clinics, support for unwed mothers and readily available contraceptives would be rational and Christian behavior.
The fanatics who passed the sonogram bills in Virginia and Texas are neither rational nor Christian - and certainly not conservative.
Fascism - "(in general use) Extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice." Oxford dictionary
countess666Feb 22, 2012
that is a necessary part of the procedure. they asked for that.
by your logic ,if you needed a colon exam, it would be oke for me to first put a dildo up your ass before inserting the actual probe
the dildo is just as medically relevant to the procedure as the tarns-vaginal ultrasound device would be.
particleman420Feb 22, 2012
except shove the dildo up his urethra
tehravenFeb 23, 2012
a colonoscopy through the urethra? OUCH!
particleman420Feb 23, 2012
take the scenic route
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