On Mandatory Intra-vaginal Ultrasounds

I'm going to go ahead and get a little political here.  It's been known to happen from time to time.  I ended up writing this in response to a query from a commenter on this story about the anti-woman anti-abortion law in North Carolina being struck down.  I was addressing commenter Nefertittles, who I subsequently decided was not as crazy at her initial comment led me (and many others) to believe.

So basically we ("we" being anyone who is pro-choice) are expected to oppose a law that has doctors providing more information? How fucked up is that?

We're against knowledge now? This one is making me uncomfortable.

So, as I later learned, Nefertittles just wasn't aware of what was already required in the process of obtaining an abortion.  That's okay.  It's an opportunity to teach, and I like to use humor to do that.

So You've Decided to Get an Abortion!

You made this decision with or without the knowledge or permission of the person who impregnated you, because really it's not their body so it's not their business (even if you are married, it is not the man's choice whether you birth him some children or not). And since this wasn't an easy decision or your idea of a good time, you don't want to discuss it with anyone else. Not only is it inconvenient, putting your body at risk (however minor in modern medicine), and stigmatized, but even if you have insurance it might not be covered.

You've made a decision based on what's best for you (and that's okay). The last thing you want is anyone trying to shame or make you feel shitty about the decision (because contrary to what Pro-Life would have you believe, we who believe in choice are not soulless monsters).

There are already laws in place concerning the safety and information a doctor must afford you after you've made this decision. You've said "Doctor, I'd like to abort this fetus." and because your doctor is not an asshole, he does not reply with "Are you sure about that? How about we take a look at the ultrasound and I point out all the little parts of that fetus?" Except now, he is required to show you the ultrasound and tell you all about it whether you want to hear it or not.

Scenario: 

You: "Doctor, I want an abortion. I can't afford/don't want any/more children. Children are parasitic resource hogs."

Doctor: "Oh, okay. We need to perform an ultrasound to discern how long you have been pregnant and determine the best procedure for which stage you are at."

You: "That's fine, I would just like to take care of this and not have to worry about it."

Doctor: "Alright, now I'm going to turn the ultrasound monitor toward you and point to the fingers and toes."

You: "What? No! Why the fuck would you do that?"

Doctor: "I just want to make sure you understand what this babby inside of you is. Do you want to name it?"

You: "OMFG! What is wrong with you!"

Doctor: "I'm just required by the state to do this. Your representatives think you are a moron and are concerned that you may not be aware that there is something growing inside of you. We tried to tell them that we already do ultrasounds to determine what stage of pregnancy a woman is in, but they wanted to make sure you, and all women know that they are pregnant, that these tissue masses might one day become babby growing inside of you, and they want me to point out the little nubs that will become babby fingers and toes, because fetal babby is cute like kitten, and you will want to have kittens!"

You: "Fuck. this."

Doctor: "Wait! Where are you going!? Why do you hate kittens!"

Conservative state senators: "Success! We have thwarted the murder of another child and reinforced that personal agency is an illusion. Now, should we pass legislation requiring any woman who has had a miscarriage to report it to the local police within 12 hours? Who are we kidding, of course we should!"

/end