Virginia is about to legalize rape against women

[The Yosemite Bear]

Yes Nit, I was trying to agree with you...

[General Mung Beans]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/us/go ... f=politics

Governor of Virginia Shifts Position on Abortion Bill
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Published: February 22, 2012


Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia backed down on Wednesday on a bill requiring women to have a vaginal ultrasound before undergoing an abortion. It was a sudden change of position for a conservative governor who is viewed as having political ambitions on the national stage.

A petition circulated by Planned Parenthood and Naral Pro-Choice America was presented at a news conference by opponents of the abortion legislation sponsored by Virginia Republicans at the State Capitol.
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The bill had drawn intense national attention in recent days, with a large protest by women’s health groups over the weekend and spoofs on left-leaning television shows.

In a political year that was supposed to be all about the economy, the outcry was the second instance in a month in which a strong public backlash organized in part by women’s health advocates through social media caused a reversal in policy on the issue of abortion.

The governor’s decision not to support the bill capped several days of brinkmanship in which opponents of the measure lobbied furiously against it, galvanizing opposition by drawing on the image of male lawmakers mandating a procedure that requires inserting a probe into the vagina. One Democrat was prompted to denounce it as a “rape” bill.

Opponents presented what they said were 33,000 signatures protesting the measure. At the same time, the mostly Republican supporters in the legislature kept putting off debate on the measure, raising suspicions that the governor might be balking.

Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. McDonnell, a rising star in the Republican Party who is often talked about as a candidate for vice president, told Republican delegates to make changes that softened the requirements in the legislation. Some political analysts speculated that the decision was made with an eye to a broader national audience that might not look favorably on the passage of such a conservative bill.

This month the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation yielded to pressure by affiliates and women’s rights advocates and reversed its decision to largely end decades of partnership with Planned Parenthood.

In Virginia, in a written statement issued minutes before the House of Delegates was to debate the bill on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. McDonnell said that after discussion with doctors, lawyers and legislators, he had concluded that amendments were needed. He called for changes stipulating that the ultrasound be abdominal rather than vaginal. A doctor would be required to offer the next level of ultrasound, most often vaginal, but a woman would be free to reject it.

“Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state,” the governor said in the statement.

The Family Foundation, a strong backer of the ultrasound bill, made reference to the Komen decision in a note to supporters blasting Mr. McDonnell’s reversal, saying that it was “extremely disappointed in this outcome,” particularly, it said, “given the strong pro-life credentials of this governor.”

The change — which passed the House in a vote of 65 to 32 — softens the bill considerably, but did not abolish the requirement that women have an ultrasound. If it is signed into law, Virginia would become the 10th state to require such procedures, though the requirement has been stayed by court rulings in two states, Oklahoma and North Carolina.

Specifically, the bill’s new wording would require a doctor to offer the woman a different type of ultrasound if the fetus is not viewable through an abdominal screening, but not require her to have one.

That opponents of the bill were successful in getting the language softened was a major success for them, particularly considering that vaginal ultrasounds are often administered before abortions anyway. A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood said the group routinely includes ultrasounds “as part of the thorough medical practice of abortion care,” and gives the woman the option of viewing the image. But the group said a legal requirement that women undergo such a screening was politically motivated and “is the very definition of government intrusion.”

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Supporters of the bill hoped such a requirement would lead some women to change their minds about having abortions, as vaginal ultrasounds usually show detailed images. Many women’s advocates called the bill an effort to shame women and said it intruded on their privacy.

Republicans, for their part, said the bill had been blown out of perspective by Democrats and liberal groups. State Senator Richard Black said that he participated in a call-in event on Wednesday morning with hundreds of constituents and that just one mentioned the ultrasound bill.

Abortion legislation was a “tiny part” of the larger body of hundreds of bills in play in the legislature, State Senator Steve Martin said. “It’s simply not a primary focus,” he said. “It only appears to be because people call me from New York newspapers acting as if it’s some big deal.”

Democrats savored their victory, giving a news conference after the House debate, but said they were hoping the bill would still be killed.

“This is definitely a retreat for the governor,” said State Senator Janet Howell, a Democrat from Northern Virginia. “The national spotlight and ridicule has had an impact. The Republicans are scrambling for an out.”

But there was some concern among Democrats over a companion bill in the State Senate that has language identical to that in the old version. It is unlikely Senate Republicans would openly defy the governor and pass that bill, but Democrats said they were watching closely.

Besides, they said, the watered-down bill is still objectionable. “It’s still putting up a barrier to a woman trying to exercise her constitutional right,” said Delegate Charniele Herring, a Democrat.

In yet another twist, the Republican sponsor of the Senate bill, Jill Vogel, said she would withdraw the legislation altogether, though it was not clear whether the rules would allow her to do so after its passage.

Delegate Bob Marshall, a Republican who had supported the bill, said the companion measure, which is due to be voted on as early as Thursday in a Senate committee, might not clear that hurdle, raising the specter of complete collapse of the ultrasound bill and giving Mr. McDonnell a way out of having to sign it.

“This is a high-stakes game,” Mr. Marshall said. “Everything is on a razor’s edge.”

Most political analysts agreed that Mr. McDonnell was seeking to defuse an embarrassing and unmanageable situation — especially at a moment when he seems to be shifting his gaze to a national, and more centrist, audience. .

“Pragmatism trumped ideology today,” said Daniel Palazzolo, a professor or political science at the University of Richmond.

[Guardsman Bass]

That doesn't surprise me. I've read that McDonnell has ambitions of getting on Romney's ticket as VP, and this would look really bad in the general election.

[Lonestar]

McDonnell is much more "spendy" on stuff than typical Tea Party types in VA. It probably comes from him being a Northern VA politician. For example, he's fought tooth and nail to prevent delibitating cuts to the DNR, because so many of our big state parks are destinations in the boondocks that artifically raise tax revenue for the localities. Whereas a lot fo other states have done partial closures ot their state parks.