Virginia Republicans continue frantically trying to figure out
what to do about the state-sanctioned rape bill they seemingly didn't realize people would object to. With the state House postponing its final vote and Gov. Bob McDonnell no longer guaranteeing he'll sign the bill, some delegates and McDonnell staffers are
talking about a compromise measure:
...after learning that some ultrasounds could be more invasive than first thought, according to two officials who were aware of the meeting but not authorized to speak about it publicly. Many of the bill’s supporters were apparently unaware of how invasive the procedure could be, one of the officials added.
To begin with, who would look at the name "trans-vaginal ultrasound" and not think "hey, this might be invasive"? But let's say the name doesn't quite register on you. How do you read even the most cursory description of a procedure that involves inserting a sizable probe into a woman's vagina and not think "yeah, that's invasive all right"? "We didn't realize it was so invasive" doesn't meet the laugh test even as Republican excuses go. That was the whole point. It was supposed to not just make it more time-consuming and expensive to get an abortion, but to make women
suffer for it (as if the physical experience of having an abortion is pleasurable to begin with). But if they need to pretend otherwise to find a way to alter it without losing their woman-hating Republican cards, fine.
The Washington Post reports that "Democrats hope to alter the bill on Wednesday to make the ultrasound voluntary." That would be a pretty big alteration; it's hard to imagine Republicans being on board with that, even as some Republicans have clearly realized they can't pass the bill in its current form. But wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall as Republicans try to figure out what to do about this one?