Ultrasound? Not So Sound

When State Representative Rachel Burgin, co-sponsor of a bill to require abortion clinics to perform ultrasounds on women seeking an abortion in the first trimester, says….

“It’s a woman’s right to understand all the ramifications of what is taking place to her….”

What she’s really saying is…

“Women making the decision to proceed with an abortion don't fully understand what they are doing.”

And so in Miss Burgin’s world, big government must do for women what she assumes they have not and cannot do for themselves:  make a fully informed decision.

If this ultrasound proposal were actually about helping a woman faced with the decision of when or if to have a family, it would no doubt be a surprise to Miss Burgin that women making this decision do actually appreciate the magnitude of what they are considering.

Miss Burgin clearly thinks women do not, and so she must step in.

Interestingly, the legislation exempts victims of rape, incest, domestic violence or human trafficking from the ultrasound requirement.  Apparently only women in circumstances less compelling to Miss Burgin need more information to help them “understand the ramifications.”

But in the end, this is not about helping women with their decision, because if it were there are so many other ways that real help could be provided.

What this is really about is about is constructing one more hurdle to a woman securing a safe, legal abortion.

It’s about making it more difficult.

And the last thing a woman needs when facing this decision is for anyone, especially the government, to make that decision more difficult.

Posted by Bernie Campbell on Thursday, March 19, 2009
Permalink: Ultrasound? Not So Sound