Ready For Your Mandatory Transvaginal Ultrasound, Ladies?

14 Comments

by: Colorado Pols

Sen. Laura Waters-Woods.

A release from NARAL Pro Choice Colorado announces a press conference tomorrow on House Bill 16-1218, which they describe as a “mandatory transvaginal ultrasound” abortion restriction bill, ahead of debate in a Colorado House committee:

For the second straight year, anti-choice legislators have introduced legislation that would mandate transvaginal ultrasounds, a 24 hour waiting period, and non-medical propaganda being read to women seeking abortion care. HB 1218 is yet another “model bill” from the national anti-choice group Americans United for Life, as detailed in NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado’s report, “Against Our Will: How National Anti-Choice Groups Are Targeting the Pro-Choice Majority in Colorado.”

The bill will be heard Thursday afternoon in the House Health Committee. All the Democrats on the Committee are women.

According to Karen Middleton, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, “When Donald Trump talked about punishing women for having abortions, these are exactly the types of bills he was talking about. HB 1218’s only purpose is to shame and humiliate women in order to discourage them from seeking abortion care.”

Before the hearing, legislators and physicians will be holding a press conference to highlight how these kinds of bills both harm women’s health and contradict the will of Colorado voters. And for those unfamiliar with what the bill actually does – as sponsors have been in the past – advocates will have an actual ultrasound wand on hand to illustrate the point.

House Bill 1218 is sponsored by a number of vulnerable Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Kevin Priola, Clarice Navarro, and JoAnn Windholz, as well as Sen. Laura Woods of Arvada–arguably the top Democratic target of the 2016 elections in either chamber. Their well-known personal anti-choice convictions notwithstanding, it is nonetheless a real surprise to see these politically vulnerable legislators up for election this year sponsoring such distasteful legislation as a bill to require medically unnecessary ultrasounds of women seeking an abortion.

But at least for one Colorado House committee’s worth of distaste, we’re going there.

14 thoughts on “Ready For Your Mandatory Transvaginal Ultrasound, Ladies?”

bullshit! says:

April 20, 2016 at 1:21 pm

Government that's small and pointy. #whatrepublicanswant

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FrankUnderwood says:

April 20, 2016 at 4:05 pm

Perhaps Laura Waters Woods will demonstrate at a legislative hearing just how non-invasive and reasonable a procedure it is…..

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Jorgensen says:

April 20, 2016 at 7:13 pm

DOA – dead on arrival. Awful legislation.

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The realist says:

April 20, 2016 at 8:13 pm

Beyond awful, as are the bill sponsors. And really, let's name ALL of these wonderful public servants:

House sponsors: Saine; Neville, P; Humphrey; Windholz; Priola; Everett; Navarro; Nordberg; Ransom.

Senate sponsors: Neville, T; Woods; Holbert; Lambert; Grantham; Marble; Lundberg; Baumgardner.

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1. Jorgensen says:
  
  April 20, 2016 at 11:53 pm
  
  Thanks for the cosponsors – all the usual suspects.
  
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2. mamajama55 says:
  
  April 21, 2016 at 5:33 am
  
  What, no Klingenschmitt on it?
  
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  1. Duke Cox says:
    
    April 21, 2016 at 6:09 am
    
    yeah, I wondered the same thing…how is he not on it? How could he miss such a fundraising opportunity?
    
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    1. mamajama55 says:
      
      April 21, 2016 at 6:57 am
      
      Perhaps it has to do with his Senate run….wouldn't want to be seen as "too extreme", or "anti-woman"?
      
      Even though he is, on both counts.
      
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      1. Duke Cox says:
        
        April 21, 2016 at 7:09 am
        
        Maybe he has brought on a political advisor to confer with his ..ahem.. spiritual one.
        
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Benita Phillips says:

April 20, 2016 at 10:20 pm

interesting that Woods is a sponsor. Her site makes this statement "I will continue to work to reduce the size and scope of government intrusion into our lives…"
Her philosophy is a personal belief system she feels too free to disseminate and impose on others.
The really bad thing is Ultrasound is based on high or low frequency sound waves that inundates soft tissue. That "soft" tissue is the brain, and neurological systems that start developing far in advance of cardiac activity. What if all this autism is caused by having such early Ultrasound to "gather information."

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1. Hellwig says:
  
  April 20, 2016 at 11:04 pm
  
  Interesting question, I looked it up, looks like no concerns.
  
  http://www.webmd.com/baby/ultrasound
  
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2. DaftPunk says:
  
  April 21, 2016 at 7:44 am
  
  What if concern trolls completely ignorant of embryology are so full of shit that they scare women away from valuable medical technology with no proven evidence of harm?
  
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  1. notaskinnycook says:
    
    April 21, 2016 at 9:15 am
    
    Now, Daft, you know better than to feed the trolls. Ignore them and they'll get frustrated and go away. We don't see much of A.C. anymore, do we?
    
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Jorgensen says:

April 21, 2016 at 12:10 am

You are a guy with no chance of getting pregnant but impregnating some innocent woman. How dare you comment about this procedure that does not affect your penis – even if it is teensy.

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