Hand over the ultrasound

More war on women sadism, this time from North Carolina.

A state law requiring that doctors who perform an abortion after the 16th week of pregnancy supply an ultrasound to state officials has sparked a new and bitter front in the war over abortion here, with stakes that are both personal and political.

Supporters say the purpose of the law is to verify that doctors and clinics are complying with state law, which outlaws abortions after 20 weeks but with an exception made for medical emergencies. Critics say the purpose is to intimidate and provide hurdles to women and doctors.

Oh come now, why wouldn’t women seeking abortions want state officials looking at their ultrasounds? They’re not as fragile as all that, are they? This is just victim feminism!!1

Melissa L. Reed, the vice president of public policy at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which operates clinics in four states, said state inspectors already had the ability to go to abortion clinics to review medical charts. She said she believed that the purpose of the new law was to intimidate doctors, particularly, she said, because the determination of fetal age is “not an exact science.” Ms. Reed also accused lawmakers of trying to intimidate women by requiring that “the most intimate piece of a woman’s medical record” be shared with a government agency.

Pff. It’s everybody’s business what’s going on inside a pregnant woman’s body. She’s public property after all.

The law, which was approved in June, also extends the mandated waiting period for women seeking an abortion to 72 hours from 24. That is the longest waiting period in the nation, and one that exists in four other states, according to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute.

So women who have to travel to get an abortion have to spend three nights away from home. That’s a lot of money, a lot of time off work, a lot of time to have a car tied up, a lot of time away from the kids. It’s what I would call a significant burden.

In a statement on Thursday, Graham H. Wilson, a spokesman for Mr. McCrory, said the law “includes common-sense measures aimed at protecting women’s health by ensuring medical professionals use proper safety precautions, and this commitment is consistent with the governor’s pledge.”

Gerrick Brenner, the executive director of Progress NC Action, a liberal group, recently sent an email to supporters that accused Mr. McCrory of “breaking his promise to women.” The new law, Mr. Brenner wrote, was a “creepy scheme” that could be mistaken for “something out of George Orwell’s ‘1984.’ ”

What, because women have a right to privacy just as men do? Don’t be silly.

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