Okay, forget everything I have ever complained about or told you to do, politically. Forget if you don’t read political posts. Stop. WATCH/READ THIS RIGHT NOW.
For those of you who for some reason cannot or do not want to watch the video, allow me to summarize. Right now there is a law that has passed the Virginia legislature that would mandate a trans-vaginal ultrasound for anyone seeking an abortion. No exceptions.
Now that in and of itself does not sound so scary, right? Wrong. A trans-vaginal ultrasound is not a normal type of ultrasound. It is an ultrasound that is taken by sticking a probe into a woman’s vagina. And it is completely and totally medically unnecessary. The Republican legislators who have passed this bill admit to it being completely medically unnecessary. It exists for the sole purpose of discouraging women from getting abortions.
I honestly could care less what your personal views on abortion are, but here’s something we have to get straight right now: no matter how you feel about abortion or why, this is government-mandated rape. Think I’m exaggerating? Let’s look at how rape is defined by the federal government of the United States of America:
“The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
Let’s re-iterate here: there are no exceptions. It doesn’t matter if you are getting an abortion one week or eight months into your pregnancy. You will be forcibly probed. It doesn’t matter if you are aborting for personal reasons or because it’s a medical necessity for either your safety or the safety of your child. You will be forcibly probed. It doesn’t matter if you are fourteen or forty. You will be forcibly probed. It does not matter if your child is the product of incest or even the product of rape. You will be forcibly probed.
Now, I don’t live or vote in Virginia. Technically, there is nothing I can do about this. But currently this bill is on the way to the governor’s desk, and the only hope there is of it not becoming law is if Virginia citizens contact the Governor and tell him about their opposition to him signing this into law. (Contact information is here. Please note that calling generally carries more weight than e-mailing does.)
Please re-blog this story. E-mail it to everyone you know. Tell them to e-mail it to everyone they know. Eventually, some of these people we all know should be from Virginia, and if you are from Virginia, you need to let your voice be heard now. Regardless of if you think life begins at conception, there is no justification, ever, for the government mandating the rape of women.
And spread widely, because yesterday a friend of mine brought up the bill on her facebook—we grew up in Virginia, she still lives there—and half of the comments were people wondering what was wrong with it for the most unintelligible reasons ever. It was complete lack of critical thinking, and that was among well-educated well-off voters in their twenties and thirties.
Keep reblogging this.
This is personal to me for 2 reasons: I live in VA and I recently found out that I likely will not be able to carry a child to term without severe risk to my own life. So if my other methods of birth control fail, I will be needing an abortion. I don’t want to have to jump through the guilt-hoops of a bunch of white men in order to save my own life.
My body, my life, my choice. And I called Governor McDonnell this morning to say so.
Please call:
(804) 786-2211
TTY/TDD: (800) 828-1120
Please call everyone. This is so scary. I live in Virginia.
I live in VA and I know a lot of my followers do. Signal boost the shit out of this.
(via hangyerhead)
