11 MEN: House Republicans Forced Ultrasounds B4 Abortions, ‘cause 1 Bill Wasn’t Enough
After replacing a harsh 20-week abortion restriction with an all-encompassing ban on federal funding for abortion, House Republicans introduced yet another anti-abortion bill on Thursday, because the legislating of women’s bodies won’t stop, can’t stop. Republican Congress members now want to mandate ultrasounds before abortions, despite the fact that some federal courts have ruled forced ultrasounds unconstitutional.
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) sneakily proposed the mandatory ultrasound bill, HR 492, on the 42 anniversary of Roe v. Wade while thousands of anti-abortion protesters marched nearby. The bill would not only make forced ultrasounds federal law, but also mandate that women have “the opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion.”
HR 492 is co-sponsored by 10 Republican male representatives. No female representative has yet to endorse the mandate. After this week’s schism of the sexes in the Republican Party, with female Republican Congress members jumping ship from the 20-week abortion ban because they believed the rape clause was “too extreme,” it will be interesting to see how many women throw their support behind this new women-centric yet male-dominated bill.