Yes, Virginia, There are Politicians Who Want You to Be Shamed into Keeping Your Baby

Virginia may be the next state to require a shamogram sonogram replete with a graphic description of the fetus before allowing an abortion.  Today, Virginia.  Tomorrow Pennsylvania.  Sometime after that, Rick Santorum who is against testing for fetal abnormalities-- specificially amniocentesis, although there are other tests that a couple at risk for birthing a child with deformities may also undergo-- being included in the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" [frequently abbreviated to "Affordable Care Act" or "ObamaCare"] touted by Obama.

Although some sort of sonogram is included in the gold standard of what happens before an abortion, the required "script-reading" by a physician that Texas has passed and that Virginia probably will pass next is not.  In some places, the script-reading laws will exclude women who are pregnant by rape as well as women carrying non-viable fetuses or deformed fetuses.  Ah, a touch of compassion there.  Meanwhile, presidential candidate Rick Santorum has added fuel to the fire by coming out against amniocentesis because he believes that finding out that a baby is not healthy leads to more abortions.

radical sapphoq says: Politicians, get the hell out of our doctors' offices.  Pregnant females should have a right to healthy and respectful prenatal care, including termination of the pregnancy if that is the decision made.  Take your scripts and shove them up the vacuum of Bad Laws. 
Abortion is a terrible tragedy.  I do not believe that an embryo or a fetus is akin to a tumor.  Yes, a life is taken when there is an abortion. 
At the same time, I am not willing to ascribe personhood rights to the embryo or fetus over the rights that a woman has to self-determination.  I still believe in a woman's right to choose, and even in a couple's right to choose if the woman wishes her partner's involvement. 
I remember the days of wire hanger abortions.  [No, I've never had one, nor have I ever been pregnant].  I also think that if we don't want women to use abortions as the default birth control option [note: I don't know what percentage of teens and young women do that], there should be easier access to services like those that Planned Parenthood has to offer.
In the heyday of the AIDS crisis, I was in a small group of activists who used to hand out condoms in a local park where men went to pick up other men.  We also used to hand them out to college kids near bars.
I am beginning to think that we should have a single-payer healthcare option or possibly a system in place instead of the mess that we have now.  The money currently being wasted  utilized by health insurance companies to ensure that we don't get care to administer their plans can be channeled to actually giving healthcare to people.  This may be the cheaper and more viable option which I don't hear anyone up on Capitol Hill talking about. 

radical sapphoq signing off with a final p.s.: Yes I took the photo and modded it myself.  So go away copyright police.


http://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/you-are-pregnant/prenatal-care-tests.cfm

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/unplannedpregnancy/abortionprocedures.html

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june12/abortion_02-23.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jess-coleman/post_2989_b_1275962.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/02/23/single-payer-health-care-is-coming-to-america-are-we-ready/

http://www.healthcare-now.org/whats-single-payer/

http://www.healthcare.gov/law/timeline/full.html

http://www.healthcare.gov/law/index.html

http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/healthcare-overview

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http://www.northern-iowan.org/mobile/obama-adds-stipulation-to-affordable-care-act-to-deal-with-religious-opposition-1.2703337

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http://www.dailytargum.com/news/obama-includes-coverage-for-contraceptives-as-part-of-affordable-care/article_398243f0-55ff-11e1-aa44-0019bb30f31a.html

http://www.thenation.com/article/165864/spoonful-sugar-affordable-care-act

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57380887-503544/santorum-attacks-obama-on-prenatal-screening/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57381041/santorum-stands-by-prenatal-screening-opposition/

http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2011/02/09/dan-patrick-says-sonogram-bill-is-misunderstood/

http://lubbockonline.com/texas/2011-02-24/texas-house-committee-passes-bill-requiring-abortion-sonograms

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57382162/is-a-required-ultrasound-a-barrier-to-abortion/

http://www.care2.com/causes/breaking-in-texas-no-abortion-without-a-sonogram-first.html

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/19/santorum-prenatal-testing-is-to-encourage-abortions/

http://www.livescience.com/12886-abortion-sonogram-research.html

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bob-schieffer-and-santorum-clash-over-his-belief-that-prenatal-care-leads-to-abortions/

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/02/15/425944/chief-sponsor-of-virginia-personhood-bill-calls-the-affordable-care-act-rape/?mobile=nc