The way to get your senator to grow a conscience: threaten not to reelect her.

USA Today: Va. senator to kill amended bill on pre-abortion ultrasounds - - by Michael Winter

Original post: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said
today he opposes legislation to mandate that women undergo an invasive
ultrasound procedure before having an abortion.

"Mandating an
invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper
role for the state," he said in a statement. "No person should be
directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their
consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure."

In
rejecting the so-called transvaginal ultrasound, which involves
inserting an ultrasound probe into a woman, he is proposing language
that would require only an external ultrasound before an abortion, The Richmond Times-Dispatch says.

Update at 3:30 p.m. ET: McDonnell, a Republican, had previously supported the controversial transvaginal ultrasound and until this past weekend said he would sign the measure, SB 484, The Washington Post reports.

House Republican leaders are expected to amend the bill this afternoon, the Post says.

McDonnell begins his lengthy statement by declaring, "I am pro-life." Here's the bulk of it:

Over
the past days I have discussed the specific language of the proposed
legislation with other governors, physicians, attorneys, legislators,
advocacy groups, and citizens. It is apparent that several amendments to
the proposed legislation are needed to address various medical and
legal issues which have arisen. It is clear that in the majority of
cases, a routine external, transabdominal ultrasound is sufficient to
meet the bill's stated purpose, that is, to determine gestational age. I
have come to understand that the medical practice and standard of care
currently guide physicians to use other procedures to find the
gestational age of the child, when abdominal ultrasounds cannot do so.
Determining gestational age is essential for legal reasons, to know the
trimester of the pregnancy in order to comply with the law, and for
medical reasons as well.

Thus, having looked at the current
proposal, I believe there is no need to direct by statute that further
invasive ultrasound procedures be done. Mandating an invasive procedure
in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state. No
person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the
state, without their consent, as a precondition to another medical
procedure.

For this reason, I have recommended to the General
Assembly a series of amendments to this bill. I am requesting that the
General Assembly amend this bill to explicitly state that no woman in
Virginia will have to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound involuntarily. I
am asking the General Assembly to state in this legislation that only a
transabdominal, or external, ultrasound will be required to satisfy the
requirements to determine gestational age. Should a doctor determine
that another form of ultrasound may be necessary to provide the
necessary images and information that will be an issue for the doctor
and the patient. The government will have no role in that medical
decision.

I have requested other amendments that help clarify the purposes of the
bill and reflect a better understanding of prevailing medical practices.
It is my hope that the members of the General Assembly will act
favorably upon these recommendations from our office. We will await
their action prior to making any further comments on this matter."

[Translation into non-political-ese: I want to run for vice president and no one will pick me with this albatross around my neck.]

Update at 4:02 p.m. ET: Opponents of transvaginal ultrasound argued that mandating the invasive procedure (image), without a woman's consent, was a form of rape or sexual abuse. Slate's Dahlia Lithwick wrote
that "under any other set of facts, that would constitute rape under
the federal definition." Virginia law considers "object sexual
penetration" a separate felony.

Update at 4:19 p.m. ET: The Virginia House of
Delegates has approved a substitute bill that would not require women
to undergo the invasive transvaginal ultrasound before getting an
abortion, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

The
legislation still mandates an ultrasound, the most common being the
external, transabdominal type, but women could choose to have the
transvaginal procedure to determine the gestational age of the fetus.
The vote in the Republican-controlled House was 65-32.

After Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said he opposed requiring women to
undergo an invasive ultrasound before having an abortion, the state
House today passed a revised measure that still mandates an ultrasound
but makes the transvaginal procedure optional. Later, the bill's Senate
sponsor said she plans to strike the amended bill.

Update at 5:45 p.m. ET: The Republican senator who
sponsored the original legislation now says she plans to kill the
amended bill when it returns to the Senate for final approval, according
to news reports.

Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel said this afternoon
that after hearing from constituents, including doctors, she did not
"feel in good conscience that I want to carry the bill in its current
form," the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

"There
are moments when you are a legislator when you have to stop and you
have to have a moment of real conscience," Vogel said. [Gee ya think?]

"I sort of had
that moment this morning considering the outcome and the fate of this
bill."

[Translation: "I want to be reelected and I can see that this bill is a deal breaker. So I grew a conscience real fast."