Covering an Indiana State Senate hearing yesterday, the essential Indianapolis Star reporter Mary Beth Schneider had a question: Would the Republican-sponsored bill being discussed by the committee, on the use of abortion-inducing drugs, require women to undergo a vaginal ultrasound? Because this kind of thing is more usually private, she then explained for the guys in her Twitter audience what, exactly, a vaginal ultrasound was.
The Indiana Senate committee ended up passing the bill, with all Democrats and one Republican voting no. And Schneider learned that the answer to her question of whether Indiana would require women to undergo vaginal probing is yes, times two. From her report in the Indy Star:
Women obtaining an abortion-inducing drug would be required to undergo an ultrasound before and after taking the drug under a bill approved Wednesday by an Indiana Senate committee.
Though the bill doesn’t specify that it be a transvaginal ultrasound, in which a several-inch-long probe is inserted in the woman, that’s exactly what Indiana would be requiring, said Dr. John Stutsman, an Indiana University School of Medicine professor and obstetrician-gynecologist....
While the woman is not required to keep that [second] appointment, the physician must make a “reasonable effort” to ensure she does.
Fidding Rapert, the tumblr
Imagine for a moment that "reasonable effort" phone call, where the doctor's office tries to coax the woman back in for a second medically unnecessary invasive ultrasound. When these vaginal probe bills have come up in other states, people have had little trouble picturing them for the interwebs. Up top, one of the Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell commemorative probes. Lower, the meme for fiddling Arkansas State Senator Jason Rapert.
While you're at it, read the Indiana bill as sponsored by Republican state Senator Travis Holdman.
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I'm getting tired of MEN trying to govern a woman's body. No uterus, no say.
Where are the women legislators? Why aren't they amending these reprehensible pieces of legislation with say "anal probes" for men who want to buy a gun?
why is it Republicans don't want big government except when it comes to women's bodies?!! then they think they should control everything?!
Men who buy guns already own an anal probe - - the gun. Let's face it, the women's health invasion and gun laws are all tied in a bow with testosterone. How about this one: every man that requests viagra must demonstrate his erectile dysfunction. To two witnesses.
@ Mykelb, because half the time it is Republican women who are sponsoring this type of legislature.
Don't blame men, blame American Al Qaeda, more commonly known as the Republican party.
Jack, if you don't want us to blame men, then more of you need to stand up and get loud in support of women. Your silence will be taken for acquiescence fair or not.
At present women make up less than one quarter of all state legislators. More than one third of those are Republicans who march in lock-step with their male counterparts. So, do the math. Literally.
There is more than one woman republican in the Indiana state senate. So it seems to me the women ARE also voting for this...unless they are democrat of course.
Again I say, keep your filthy paws off our silky draws. We can no longer allow men to control us. Why don't they try to get into the mens pants instead. Is he wearing boxers or underoos? They still don't understand prioritization when it comes to legislating.
you get so many props for quoting Grease I cannot even
more props for the Grease reference! Also is he wearing a condom????? Let's get personal with the dudes, too!
I was hooked to the silver screen...David Bowie. Warlords fighting in the dance hall, look at those cavemen go, it's in the best selling show. Is there life on Mars?
Except the word is drawers not draws...
It is commonly pronounced draws in the South and other places. While they are at it they can keep their paws off our underwear draws, too. And their minds. All this obsession with our lady parts is awfully perverted. I bet they all get off on ladies underwear, too. Or maybe they are all wearing ladies panties under those suits.
You people are the idiots who keep voting these moronic Republicans into office, so you get what you deserve.
State Republicans don't learn very fast do they. Every time they have been tried, these bills haven't gone well for Republican proponents. I guess they have an electorial death wish.
These laws are creating more than a voter backlash; they also create more women candidates for office. In the next few election cycles, we will see a trend with more women in state and federal government offices. This will affect Republicans more than Dems. There will be primary challenges, election wins and upsets by women candidates. These laws will be the downfall of the conservative misogynists but they will not figure that out until it is too late.
Shall I start in the Legislatures?
Not all of us men are repugnant creeps... just a significant percentage...
There are John Waynes' and then there are PeeWee Hermans.(no offense Peewee).
we need more Pee Wee Hermans , it's the God Damned John Wayne types and their my way or the highway mentalities that are @!$%#ing this country up.
Thems fightin' words. You really shouldn't damn anybody, who do you think you are? Peewee Herman?
We need politicians who get arrested for public masturbation?
I kinda enjoy when they get arrested for that.
"Deviate sexual conduct according to IC35-41-1-9" is also "the penetration of the sex organ or anus of a person by an object." That Indiana can attempt to force a vaginal intrusion legislatively violates their own statutes and should have mandatory court review. Hopefully someone sane will challenge this moralistic insanity.
I think that any legislator who votes in favor of any bill that violates a woman's constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade should be compelled to register themselves and their wives (yes wives) as foster parents. Wait a minute..I take that back. Leave them kids alone.
That's how they beat the Virginia trans-vaginal probe proposal. Unwilling women penetrated by a foreign object is rape.
Also gotta wonder if this whole thing isn't some grown up Boy Scout type of circle jerk, sitting around a table fantasizing about raping women with foreign objects. Possibly bowls of Viagra next to the water pitcher.
These are some sick, sick men. Apparently they've solved all their state's other problems, as women's health care should not be a high priority in the face of all the other challenges they face these days.
Dirty little boys!
Once again the republican party proves their centuries old beliefs, I really wish they would get the ticket that takes them on board the progress train and come to the here and now and into the future. Maybe everyone who voted for that bill should have the transvaginal ultrasound, yes I mean EVERYONE who voted.
Your comments are valid and echo mine, but for one point. These are not the "centuries old beliefs" of the Republican Party. These are the beliefs of the new and extreme right-wing, uber-Christian chowderheads who have hijacked the Republican Party and left many of its long-time and rational members standing in the wings.
Our country needs an opposition party to provide reasoned debate with whichever party happens to be in power. The present-day GOP does not represent the views of many, many long-time Republicans, myself included.
Some of the beliefs of the tea party Republicans are centuries old. And there has been an extreme right wing of the party for a very long time. They attacked JFK relentlessly and they were, just like the tea party, encouraged and backed by big money. Immediately after JFK's assassination much of the country assumed that right wing extremists had had him killed. This crap has been going on for a very long time. Some strides in civil rights were made in the years following the assassination but this current crop of extremists, backed by a whole lot of cash from those who don't really care about women's bodies but care very much about their bottom lines, are trying to drag us all back to the pre JFK years when women often went to Cuba to obtain a needed abortion and white men ruled the United States without question or opposition. But it's not going to happen.
We've got your picture, we've got your picture,
We'd like a bunch so we can make your life hell.
We'll make your doctor to take your picture,
So we can look at you from inside as well.
We'll have you turning up and turning down and turning in and
turning 'round
I'm turning Tea_bag_ger I think I'm turning Tea_bag_ger I really think so.
Turning Tea_bag_ger I think I'm turning Tea_bag_ger I really think so . . .
Props for The Vapors!
This is just a sad time to be a woman. I don't understand why more women don't stand up for themselves. Power in numbers.
Damn, now I'm going to have that ear worm for weeks. Well done.
Where is the AMA in all this they and all Medical Organizations should be front and center including MD's should be aggressively in the faces of these Legislators in all these states telling them in no uncertain terms "Until you get a medical degree you are not in any way shape or form making medical decisions for us"
I imagine that the AMA is raking in the bucks over these increased procedures, so why should they care?? The Hippicratic oath has long been forgotten in this Age of Greed.
I don't know about AMA, but ACOG (OB/Gyn grpoup) is on the record strongly opposed to this kind of legislation.
There they go again! Those Republicans are playing short pecker politics once more! I guess they're tired of being pointed at with laughter! -Kevo
Would it be incorrect to wish that some vigilantly woman get together and confront these men lawmakers one late evening as then enter or exit there vehicles late one evening and illustrate just how painful a probe is by inserting one into there butts?
No, I don't think it would be incorrect to wish that, Bill King. But I would wish for a lot worse to be done to those men.
Yes, I think it would be incorrect to wish that, Bill King. But I wouldn't worry about it too much. What's another 700 years in purgatory for a righteous cause. And you will be in good company. Love you
Exactly how does any state intend to actually enforce these ridiculous laws? Under HIPAA, an individual's medical records are private and not subject to sharing with anyone beyond the patient and doctor, last I knew. What gives the state and individual law enforcement officials the right to that information? Without that information, how can they possibly know whether a woman has had her vijayjay probed or not - or for that matter , whether she has terminated a pregnancy or not?
How do such idiots keep getting voted into office, at any level?
Because there are Wingnuts, Far Right Extreme Conservatives, Religious Fanatics that will do anything to stop a woman from getting a abortion I often wonder what if there wife, mother or daughter were raped and became pregnant would they still stand as firm on there out of touch POV ?
Sting operations: a woman goes in to request an abortion, and if the MD doesn't check all the boxes he can lose her licence. If the MD does check all the boxes, the woman just doesn't follow through.
The "come back for another ultrasound" part is hard to blame on the MD, though -- once the meds are administered, the MD doesn't have any power to compel and can't be held liable for the woman disregarding directions.
The thing to remember is that these laws are directed at the MDs, not at the women. Cracking down on women is politically hazardous and it would take lots of enforcement. Cracking down on an MD is easy: they only need one example and the MD loses her license, which she can't afford -- so she doesn't take the chance.
Yeah, we all know what the fanatical Wingnuts do when their own turn up preggers. Secret abortions, either abroad or on the down-low here.
All women should have the same privacy as the wealthy, self-righteous, too-proper-to-admit-a-family-secret folks do.
KJ: That is a very interesting and pertinent fact you are pointing out about HIPPA and these absurd mandated ultrasounds. I say you are technically correct about this being private and protected.
DC, you're right - the targets here are the MDs. They can't possibly win here; they either disclose private patient information in violation of HIPAA, or get cited for violation of the ultrasound law. I think the real goal here is to reduce/eliminate the number of MDs who dispense the pills and perform procedures, by 1) "catching" them in an offense and 2) scaring them enough so they just stop doing abortions completely. When nobody is willing to do that anymore, the babies will be saved!!! Hallelujah!
And then we get to deal with the consequences: self-abortions gone bad, dead newborns in dumpsters, live newborns left on random doorsteps, a glut of babies up for adoption (that few if any right-to-lifers will be willing to adopt), an exploded foster care system that already underserves children, increased poverty and dependence on social programs, crime, etc.
Anti-abortion Republicans whose mistresses find themselves in a "delicate condition" push them to... <big surprise coming>... have an abortion!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/10/10/republican-rep-scott-desjarlais-pressed-mistress-to-get-an-abortion-report-says/
They are ruining HIPAA anyway. Because mental health records will be sent to the federal government for background checks. So if someone with a mental illness (I'm wondering who is the official who says "You were depressed. You cannot buy a gun, get on a plane or anything!" ) Background checks will have damaged the privacy between a physician and his patient even before the ultrasounds x2.
And there are high-fives all around.
Funny how "small government" is always BIG intrude into my lady-parts. And funny how these old, white, men (& self hating women) don't seem to feel that MY RIGHTS are being VIOLATED nor that their actions shred that very Constitution they pull out when the shoe is on the other foot!
Hysterectomy oops I mean hysterical. The sad part is the far right is winning at the local level. Why? Could it be that at this level they have more power to enact legislation without the support of the voters? Maybe it is the reluctance of their constituency to take the time to vote in midterms? Maybe it is the fact that local legislatures are cheaper to buy?
Point is they are winning and only by recognizing that there is a war going on against all things left of right winged evangelism will the rest of us be prodded into action.
Oh we vote all right. But we are surrounded here in the Hoosier state. We are the minority. We are a mostly rural state and a Republican stronghold, and I mean the far right wing of the Republican party.
I feel for you since I myself live in south carolina or Lind"seed" world as I call it.
The rethugs want to get as many of their laws passed as possible because they know they don't represent the people. They don't care. Their superior intelligence (is there an emoticon for gag, gag) lets them think they make better choices for everyone else.
Ok, so they should have attached an amendment that says any male who wants viagra needs a trans-rectal ultra sound once a month for as long as they utilize the drug, you know, to keep a look-see on that prostate gland and all.
Are they going to pay for this or does the "Women" have to pay for this...... Oh Since they do not want any abortions. I see the GOP does not want support these children if born. I have one Question all these old men making these rules (Most of them) have 2 -5 children or less. What have they been doing to prevant a child born.
I think a bill should be introduced to require men, who are seeking ED drugs(Viagra), to undergo surgical prostate exam.
I love the idea! I am also thinking that women have more power than they know. ie Lysistrata :) Maybe then MEN would start treating women with some dignity when it comes to making their own decisions.
I say any network that runs a cialis commercial should have to pay a hefty fine to me for chipping away at my will to live...
I guess it is time for women and doctors to fight back and get rid of these invasive and basically unconstitutional laws. No one has the right to tell a doctor and patient what to do! It's time for more women to run for congress and other public offices. Thank GOD I don't live in these doomed states like Alabama, Indiana and Mississippi that are taking back women's rights 75 years. When will women in these states fight back with their votes and protest what the conservative men are doing to them! Please know you will have the overwhelming support of women all over the country!
with a tea party govenor in indiana it was just a matter of time before all this same crap came along !!!!!!
Pence is only a bandwagon jumper on the Tea Party Express. He's a religious fascist underneath all of his cutesy little "small government" bullpucky. He covered it up quite well during the gubernatorial race, but he is as evangelical and as driven by religious ideology as they come.
this is what i call rape.....and should be against the law
KT, that wouldn't work for republican users of viagra, they would never be able to get the ultra-sound wand past their heads
Maybe - but remember, small brains, big holes. Still worth a try.
The problem may be finding Republicans who use Viagra; I don't think they have much sex. Remember the George Carlin line: "Did you ever notice the anti-abortion folks are people you wouldn't want to f*** anyway?"
I thought medical courses and treatments were planned by a doctor and a patient? I was completely unaware that my elected officials were in on it as well. But my question is, IF this becomes the law of the land, HOW are they going to ensure that doctors are doing it? Anything that a doctor and patient say is privileged and so is the patients medical records. Unless the republicans add a cliff-note that says 'If a woman is found to have an abortion she is already under suspicion of not getting an ultrasound'. Because with their thinking 'Women would rather have the kid then get this thing shoved up their unmentionables'. What I do n't understand about these wingnuts is that they already have their religious hospitals and clinics that will not provide these services. Is it not enough? Last time I checked, I lived under the Constitution of the United States. Not the bible.
The answer is GET INVOLVED IN LOCAL POLITICS! We all get so het up over national elections. It's the local ones that get this nonsense rolling. GET INVOLVED!!!!!
You are absolutely correct. ALEC and the tea party fanatics are running rampant on every level of local politics. Stand up now or you truly will find it is too late. There is no waiting for 2014. Actions must be taken now. Find ways to make the elected resign (preferably in shame) and work to keep the rest from being elected in the first place. This is how 2010 happened. We can not let that happen again.
All you have to do is look at the Indiana Republican Obstructionist Party Legislature and you will find few women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Indians, or any other minorities. It is an Good Old White boys' elitist club. Their conservative values have morphed into Tea Party Taliban values that have nothing to do with freedom. They pat themselves on the back as they create laws to disenfrachise minorities, women, children, retirees, the poor, the LGBT Community and anyone else that doesn't put profits in their pockets. They cannot keep educated people in the state because their policies don't reflect a society that is open and respectful of individual freedom and respect of privacy.
As a man I have to wonder what the hell the men who make these sort of judgement really know about their wives, mothers, daughters etc ??? I sincerly hope more women take up the cause and stand for election - then bring a bill through that requires all MEN to have a rectal probe test to stand for office. It should not be difficult since so many of them are already @!$%#s.