this bill disgusts me

This is absolutely ridiculous. You can bet that if this passes, the next thing will be banning abortions altogether & going after birth control.

fun they had discussing it, and deciding on the details? All the requirements?

You're absolutely right, Kelvin.

naming the legislators who voted in favor of this? We already know they're republicans. I'd bet my last dime that the overwhelming majority are male.

like the bill's sponsor, Kathy Byron who also wants to increase cancer deaths

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?111+sum+HB1419

Rape bill is:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=121&typ=bil&val=hb462

Contact info here:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?121+mbr+H115

Sharia Law brought to the American women from the very same religious wacko's that tried to sell us the fear of Obama,
a secret Muslim, who would give us "Sharia Law."

How could any sane, intelligent person elect these control freaks, never mind listen to them?

you might want to listen to this

It is a bit long, but quite educational. You might be surprised at how distorted the common understanding of Sharia actually is. (It has been distorted in the same way the most vocal fundamentalists distort the perception of Christianity in this country.)

...but aside from not wanting mainstream Muslims tarred with the brush that should be reserved for religious extremists, I agree. It is extremely ironic that people who were fearmongering that Obama would an extremist, claiming authority under their distorted view of Islamic law, are now bringing us the equally oppressive rape by proxy.

I was thinking of the Handmaid's Tale as well. I complained about it to one of my professors.

Further, transvaginal ultrasounds hurt like hell and are kind of awful even if you're not scared, bruised or traumatized. Demanding a woman who is an abuse survivor or rape victim to undergo one is a special kind of evil.

edit: To say nothing of pregnant minors. As far as I know there's no exception, and I can't even begin to imagine how horrid that would be.

I question the danger of inserting a vibrator-size probe inside a pregnant woman's vagina. Why would anyone create a law that forces the chance of a spontaneous abortion when their interest is against aborting?

I had a trans-vaginal probe done last November. It was a part of cancer screening (I have metastatic breast cancer). I didn't want this test, but it was done at the request of my oncologist. It was medically necessary, but I still felt the indignity. No woman should have to experience this indignity because of the whims of self-righteous men sitting in the state legislatures.

There is no medical reason for this to be forced upon a woman. I think this is akin to rape. And possibly child endangerment . It's not cost effective either. Who's suppose to pay for this?

I hope to see lawsuits on this. Shameful, just shameful.

and was challenged. The district court judge issued a restraining order while the bill was being appealed. A virulent anti-abortion judge on the 5th circuit (a woman) overturned the stay, and allowed the law to go forward during appeal.

that this could cause a psychological barrier to having sex at all? Or that women throughout Virginia may suddenly develop really bad headaches?

and cut the men off until this BS stops.

(suspected ectopic pregnancy).

Rape by proxy is a pretty apt description. The process is not fun - and should not be required unless medically necessary. Mine was - ectopic pregnancies can be fatal. As a prerequisite to an abortion - not so much.

I would add one observation, though. I suspect if the mistress of any of these men got pregnant they would be subjected to the procedure - if only to punish them for getting themselves pregnant.

(And - I would greatly appreciate it if you would remove "sexually deviant" from the description of these men. The phrase "sexual deviants" is used far too frequently to refer to gays and lesbians, and used in the context of insulting these men it feels too close to the insult-them-by-calling-them-gay meme. I suspect you can come up with something more creative to substitute!)

being done to help women "understand" what they are doing. What, we're too damn ignorant to read and understand?