OK, Virginians. It's time to step up again. Gov. McDonnell has until Friday to sign the bill on ultrasounds prior to abortions. Here's the letter I wrote to him tonight:
Dear Governor McDonnell:
Once again, I am writing you about Virginia's misguided attempts to reduce the numbers of abortions in the Commonwealth. HB 462 will not achieve what its sponsors claim to want. Instead, it will cause women to go elsewhere, even back into the alleys, to get abortions.
HB 462 is a travesty of justice, a travesty of morality, and a violation of everything for which the Republican Party claims to stand. It is an invasion of privacy, and a government intrusion into the private lives of its citizens. Of course, this bill only intrudes into the lives of WOMEN, putting upon them an unnecessary medical procedure, mandated by legislators who are NOT doctors, and who have no medical expertise.
If the Commonwealth wants to reduce abortions, it needs to step up and provide contraception for women, as well as health care, jobs and a caring heart in those cases of rape or incest that drive a woman or girl to abortion.
Women who seek abortions know exactly what they are doing. They have agonized over this decision. They have, I can assure you, cried and prayed and finally decided that this is the only thing they can do. The forced ultrasound, combined with the waiting period, is nothing more than the Commonwealth of Virginia's attempt to proclaim anew its war on women, who make up 50.9 percent of the Commonwealth's population.
If you desire to stay true to your Republican colors, sir, you will veto this bill. If you choose to sign it, you are saying that you truly do NOT care about Republican values, and care instead about attacking the majority of your constituents.
Stand up for your truest values as a Republican and veto this bill! The women of the Commonwealth are counting on you!
Sincerely,
(Name removed)
Join me in praying for the preborn. This is not a war on women. It is genocide among those who too often die without anyone standing for them.