Mike - Simply FANTASTIC!! Great way to give a little humor to this mess!! Thank you!

Oh if only that were the case, but as he can't run again, he's likely not terribly concerned about moderate VA women voters.

However, this legislation allows McDonnell to further his quest for the 2012 Republican VP slot. By burnishing his social conservative credentials at the expense of our freedoms, he's telling national conservatives that he's the real deal. A Santorum/McDonnell administration? Now THAT's a sign of the Apocalypse!

Mike, you appear to be very angry. Are you receiving any help? Please remember that the chief sponsor of this bill was a woman, yet men like you are making the biggest stink.

Agree with Jim - check!

Jim, Nice hate words, but not based on fact. Check. Mate.

By the way, you forgot to mention that the ultrasound bill was introduced by a female, Sen Jill Vogel, who has already said she will withdraw it, meaning the bill will die faster than most aborted fetuses.

Hey, we're moving on to the new discussion on how the Democrats are conspiring to hold up the budget. Care to join us?

The bill will not be enacted, though, because its Senate sponsor, Jill Vogel, is withdrawing it. So, the fact that the House passed it is irrelevant.

T, as was pointed out to you earlier, Planned Parenthood requires the outty ultrasound. Does that make them unacceptable in your mind?

@Mary - I have no idea why you would think I care what Planned Parenthood does as a matter of course. What procedures they choose to use (and, I'd bet, have the option to forego) is up to them. Neither Planned Parenthood nor any other medical provider I have seen has policies and procedures that carry the force of law.

Sigh. Are you a mom? Leaving aside the fact that less than one percent of pregnant moms even go in for a checkup within five weeks of the zygote creation, characterizing an ultrasound as rape is akin to labeling abortion as premeditated murder.

The issue here has always been forcing a woman to have an invasive procedure without her consent. The bill says nothing about whether the procedure is a good or bad one for women to have; only that the state shouldn't mandate something that is between a woman and her doctor.

If I was a Dr. and a woman came to me for an abortion, I would insist on the clearest possible image of what was ahead of me (so to speak) and what/where I would be working, whether that involved a CT, sonography or transvaginal. That would be MY call, not the patient's (or the Govt's) because, if something goes wrong...I'm the one facing a hefty lawsuit and possible loss of my career. If I went for a root canal or even a large cavity, and the dentist didn't first do an x-ray, I'd walk out. A good dentist will get the best image he can before touching a tooth. Why wouldn't an ob/gyn do the same? I would think a woman would be terrified of someone performing a procedure as invasive as abortion without first getting the best image possible. But, if she insists on not having a transvaginal against a Dr.'s recommendation (vs the govt), then the patient should simply agree to sign a release of liability so the Dr. can't be sued if something goes wrong or the Dr. reserves the right to decline service if he/she feels their ability to perform safely is compromised w/out a TransVag. This just seems like a common sense solution, no?

Vasquez2 - exactly the point. In the scenario you paint here, it's a choice by the DOCTOR and the WOMAN, not by the government. If the woman doesn't want to follow the doctor's recommendation, she's free to find another doctor.

VA a laughing stock? You need to get out more. VA is in way better shape than most states/countries. Many people move here for good reason. Disagreeing with one issue does not make VA a laughing stock

Actually it appears that the legislative process is working as it should in this case. The religious zealots had their say, other opinions were offered, and the result is that their bill did not go forward.

As stated in an earlier post, we've had 4 families move into my neighborhood from Maryland, in the last year. They've left because they're fed up. i've got relatives in Ohio and Michigan trying to make the same move to VA.
Laughingstock? Not hardly.

My, my, Mike. You are a little hot under the collar. I find Republicans generally to be quite cheerful fellows. Maybe you confused them with the "Occupy" folks! We do get a little peeved at times at liberals' obsession with spending other folks' money and amicably show our displeasure, but we always clean up after ourselves. Generally, we go quietly about our business, paying income taxes and helping support the 48% that don't.

I found the allusion to Christ a tad elusive, but a combination of the Golden Rule and the free market--the best prescription yet for universal well-being and prosperity.

Harry

Yes, Mike, you figured it out. Churches are full of Republicans trying to escape for an hour or more each week. How you continue to spit your venom while avoiding facts may be baffling to some, but I understand. I very much look forward to your next diatribe on how to make our world a better place.

Actual facts, some golden rule and a little diatribe on who had the biggest spending cuts and smallest tax increases:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/the-budget-deals-of-reagan-bush-clinton-and-obama-in-one-chart/2011/07/06/gIQA98w11H_blog.html

Republicans never clean up after themselves, they leave their messes for other people to take care of. If I didn't have to take any responsibility for my actions I'd be cheerful to. Maybe they feel because they have accepted Christ, that whatever they do is ok. Or maybe they feel since they are going up in the rapture it doesn't matter how baldy they leave it for the rest if humanity. We shall know them by their actions and their actions are very clear. I'm not angry, I'm truthful, maybe both of you two should try it some time.

The Weekly Standard had article some years back on media bias called Biased Beyond a Doubt, by Robert J. Barro (Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics at Harvard University and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University). In the article, he mentions some of the 200 think tanks, both liberal and conservative, most commonly cited by House and Senate members. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) was listed as one of the most commonly cited of the "liberal think tanks". http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/barro/files/ws04_1213.pdf
The Drudge Report came in left-of-center, btw. Im a Libertarian. I recently started watching the "hated" Fox News (on a challenge) to see what all the fuss was about. Im into my 2nd week and I've found only 1 conservative anchor- Hannity (he does get on my nerves). Bret Baird seems pretty down the middle with folks like Mara Liasson & Juan Williams (NPR) on his panel. The Five, is mix of all viewpoints (a good thing, no?), Shepard Smith is a Liberal, O'Reilly - center-right, Greta VanSustern, center-left, Geraldo Rivera - Liberal, So, where is all the "Right wing extremism" I heard so much about? On the contrary! Everyone seems to have a voice on Fox, which is not the case at MSNBC (home of the angry rant). Straight up 411 is a nice change! I've learned more in a week @ Fox than a year elsewhere! It's just nice to have the chance to hear/consider all viewpoints. Keep an open mind, Mike, why so bitter?

T. Ailshire and RestonMom, yes, Vogel has said that seems like she will strike her legislation. You can read her comments here from the Richmond Times-Dispatch: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/feb/22/3/daily-show-latest-to-lampoon-va-ultrasound-bill-ar-1707568/

Thank you, but I found it on Sen Vogel's web site -- so NOW it's not second-hand information.

On your first point, I can say at least you have the courage of your convictions - admitting that this legislation is an attempt to stop women planning an abortion.. I disagree, but I admire you admit it.

A zygote, which is the earliest form of embryo and consists of a mass of dividing cells, is no more a sentient human being than a skin cell is. Why no outcry in Richmond for the thousands of zygotes that are disposed of each year as the result of in-vitro fertilization?

Your second point on this being for the benefit of the women's health is ridiculous. You can't be seriously suggesting that there is such an epidemic of malpractice in Virginia, that the state assembly has to dictate what medical procedures are performed.

This isn't about informed consent, and it isn't about the health of the mother..this is about trying to shame women into not getting an abortion...period.

P.S. I'm not sure referencing the Civil War in relation to what defines a person is such a great idea considering that half this country at the time didn't consider black people legal persons...

Inserting an object into a woman's vagina without her consent is rape according to Virginia law and the FBI definition of rape. Also, under state and federal conspiracy laws, the legislators who drew up the legislation mandating transvaginal sonograms are guilty of conspiracy to commit rape. Had the governor signed this bill, he could also have been charged with conspiracy to commit rape. Perhaps the Commonwealth attorneys explained it to him and that's why he withdrew his support for HB 462. Or perhaps it was the hordes of Republican women who signed petitions from every corner of the state who changed his mind. Certainly Democrats would not have changed his mind.

I do not believe a zygote is a distinct human being. It may have the potential to be a human being. We move back and forth here between concepts of religion and science. I do not believe the state has the right to force a religion on its citizens. The United States was created to protect people FROM religion.

I do not tell my neighbors that they have to stop having children after two, or three, or five. If you choose to have five children, or even more, that is your right. I don't want to be obliged to bear children because of your religious faith.

In a perfect world birth control would be perfect and reliable. Perhaps some day we will live in that perfect world.

Kathy Kaplan
Reston, Virginia

Kathy - Excellent - simply excellent response thank you!! - Jim I had to read your responses a couple of time to get it - I get it thank you too!

Do you people of Virginia realize how far backward you are perceived to the modern

world. do you walk around wearing confederate uniforms? My lord people, join the 21st century

egg is fertilized it becomes a distinct human being, with rights that supersede the woman's
HUH?

The sperm and egg unite in one of your fallopian tubes to form a one-celled entity called a zygote. Zygote not human.

Hey, here's a headline for tomorrow:

"Virginia Senate Aborts Ultrasound Bill"