Flexing their super-majority muscle in the Texas House, Republican lawmakers swatted away a swarm of amendments offered by the Democratic minority on Thursday and gave preliminary approval to a House version of a bill requiring doctors to perform a sonogram on women requesting an abortion. Declared an emergency by Republican Gov. Rick Perry, the measure passed by a vote of 103 to 42.
House Bill 15, sponsored by state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, requires a doctor performing an abortion to conduct the sonogram at least 24 hours before the procedure was to take place. The doctor also is required to show the woman the sonogram image, play the sound of the fetal heartbeat for her and describe in some detail the image that appears on the sonogram. The woman does not have to view the sonogram or hear the heartbeat, although she still would have to hear the doctor’s description.
I’m guessing is this going to include a rider to have police investigations for every miscarriage, just to make sure those inherently evil women (see: Eve) aren’t trying to sneak one by the “Small” Government Republicans bray so hypocritally about.
This whole think is sick and disgusting. At least it was called what it is during the debate…
Earlier in the debate, Alvarado described Miller’s bill as “government intrusion at an all-time high.”
“So why would we be considering a big-government kind of bill?” Castro asked during discussion on the House floor. “Do you feel that the author and others that support the bill feel that women are just too dumb to make a decision they’ve contemplated for quite awhile?”
“I think it’s about shaming women, humiliating women and embarrassing women when they would have to undergo such a mandate,” Alvarado said.
That’s exactly what it is.
To see how sexist, debasing, and targeted this bill is…just think for minute how much it will impact men.
UTPDATE: BTW, male Republicans lying about the entire nature of this debate is not a new thing. Nor is it, in the slightest way, limited to Texas.
Robot Pirate Ninja 
I love this line of yours: “To see how sexist, debasing, and targeted this bill is…just think for minute how much it will impact men.” Exactly. What about the guys who get the women pregnant? Where is their culpability and their responsibility? Why don’t they have to sit through the mandated, shameful, script? It’s a travesty for women, but also for the men who don’t have to undergo everything from the shame to the pain — the men don’t get the chance to experience something that might, just might, change how they look at these far-reaching (like up-to-the-elbow) laws.
Thanks for being brave enough to put this out there!
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