As Republicans in Washington scream bloody murder about contraception, Alex Koppelman watches the actions of Virginia Republicans:
Virginia House has passed a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion. In many cases (most, in fact) that would mean having what’s called a "transvaginal ultrasound," in which a probe is inserted into a pregnant woman’s vagina to get the necessary image. This may just seem like an attempt to punish women who choose to have an abortion and a way to make the procedure even less attractive than it already is—and there may be some element of that involved—but there is a medical reason for the transvaginal ultrasound, at least, if an ultrasound is required by law. Most abortions are conducted at a period during pregnancy when the fetus may be too small to be properly seen with the "jelly-on-the-belly" ultrasound.
Frum decries the double standard:
Conservatives in Washington correctly argue that the state should allow religious institutions latitude for their conscientious beliefs free from government mandates. It does dangerously complicate the narrative if—at the same time—conservatives down the road in Richmond are enacting mandates requiring physical intrusion into women's bodies before those women are allowed to exercise their own conscientious beliefs. Freedom for some must be freedom for all, and the rights of churches are most convincingly upheld by those who also uphold the rights of women.
The Dish 