Texas Forced Sonogram Bill Is About The Power To Force A Woman To Do Something Against Her Will

The Texas State Senate has the votes to pass bill that forces women seeking an abortion to get a sonogram.

With Republicans in firm ontrol of the Texas House and with Governor Perry ready to sign the legislation, it seems that this bill will soon become law.

Here are facts on the bill from The Texas Tribune—

“…..a doctor would have to describe to a woman the details of a sonogram hours before performing the abortion. The doctor would show the woman the sonogram and play the heartbeat audibly, unless the patient opts out. Even if the patient opts out, the doctor would have to describe the development of the fetus, including its dimensions. Women with fetal abnormalities, or who have been a victim of rape or incest, are given an exception.”

What if a woman refuses this procedure?  Will police officers be called to force her against her will to get this sonogram?

Texas libertarians appear to be silent on this issue of forced medical procedures on free citizens.

What medical procedures will the state force next on free people?

Many who oppose Healthcare Reform say it is wrong to force people to buy health insurance. Now these same conservatives in Texas want to force specific medical procedures on women.

Planned budget cuts in the Texas legislature are targeting education and healthcare.

People who are already here don’t matter so much.

This forced sonogram bill has as much to with abortion as rape has to do with sex.

This bill is about the power of government to make women do something against their will.

It is all about power over women and nothing to do with protecting life.

If Life Begins At Conception, Why Did Not Pro-Lifers Demand That The Unborn Be Counted In The Census?

If life begins at conception as advocates of the so-called right-to-life position assert, why did not these folks demand that the unborn be counted in the Census?

My Views On Abortion

I’ve been wanting to do a post on the issue of abortion. I’ve just not found the right way to express myself on the matter. 

A few days ago I read the views on this question of Democratic U.S. Representative David Obey of Wisconsin. I’m going to let him speak for me—

“While I detest abortion and agree with Catholic teaching that in most instances it is morally wrong, I decline to force my views into laws that, if adopted, would be unenforceable and would tear this society apart.”

Though I’m not Catholic or a follower of any religion, I go here with Mr. Obey. I feel a deep wariness of abortion is the stance most consistent with my opposition to the death penalty, my opposition to unnecessary war and obscene amounts of defense spending, and my support of an activist government that helps meet the needs of individuals in society.

I feel this society will kill any anytime it gets the chance. This whether it be high rates of murder or a barbaric affinity for the death penalty, Afghan or Iraqi civilians at the wrong place at the wrong time when our drones and airplanes come around, or poor people who are in essence left to die because they can’t afford the basic needs of our society.         

I support a woman’s right to choose. Not because I assume a good choice will be made, but because of the mix of abstract reasoning, optimism, and nihilism that makes my support for democracy personally tenable. 

If you don’t like nihilism, than how about a strong sense of the absurd.

People must be able to choose the course they will follow in life. ( As long as they pay their taxes. You can’t have a society without taxes.) This ability to choose is essential in a society that would see itself as free.

Birth control, access to affordable day care, and the prospect of decent-paying jobs for hard working people might lower the abortion rate in our country. But politicians absurdly identified as “pro-life” don’t do much to encourage these things. Instead, they often work diligently to make life even more difficult for young families, single mothers and children of all ages.

Congressman Obey represents much of rural northwestern Wisconsin. The largest city in his district is Wausau. Why rural voters keep voting Republican when they get little in return, just as Democrats often use city voters, is something of a mystery. 

Rep. Obey seems in many respects close to my own views. Mr. Obey advocates government mandated universal health care, and a government with a role in job creation and in the economy as a whole. At the same time, he seems hesitant about libertine personal behavior, but without race-baiting or gay-baiting. He favors stem cell research. 

Please click here an account of many of Mr. Obey’s votes and positions. Mr. Obey is 69 and has been a member of the House since 1969.