"Really Small Government"--Abortion Ultrasound Bill Dies

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by: Colorado Pols

To wit–government small enough to fit in, well…as NARAL Pro Choice Colorado’s Karen Middleton memorably described yesterday:

Karen Middleton HB 1218 Press Conf April 21 State Cap

Places you probably don’t want it.

Here’s the press release from NARAL Pro Choice Colorado on the defeat yesterday of House Bill 16-1218, a bill that would have required ultrasounds and non-medical waiting periods for women seeking an abortion:

For the second straight year, a bill introduced by anti-choice legislators that would mandate transvaginal ultrasounds, a 24 hour waiting period, and non-medical propaganda being read to women seeking abortion care has failed in Committee. HB 1218 was defeated in the House Health Committee on an 8-5 vote. All the Democrats on the Committee are women.

According to Karen Middleton, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, “HB 1218 is designed to shame and humiliate women who seek abortion care and to trap doctors in red tape and regulations. It crosses a line for Colorado women and I am glad legislators saw it that way as well.”

Dr. Aaron Lazorwitz, a Denver Ob-Gyn, testified in opposition to the bill. According to Dr. Lazorwitz, “There is no medical reason to mandate a 24 hour waiting period or to force a woman to view an ultrasound. HB 1218 would also introduce non-medical language such as ‘unborn child’ into legislation that could be used to establish fetal personhood, an idea that has already been rejected by Colorado voters three times.”

HB 1218 is yet another “model bill” from the national anti-choice group Americans United for Life, as detailed in NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado’s report, “Against Our Will: How National Anti-Choice Groups Are Targeting the Pro-Choice Majority in Colorado.”

As everyone knows, this legislation was never going to get far in the Democratic-controlled House. The decision to introduce this legislation in the House instead of the GOP-held Colorado Senate was deliberate, part of the delicate balance Republicans try to achieve between pleasing their fervently anti-choice base and remaining viable in general elections where anti-abortion bills become significant liabilities.

What we can tell you about House Bill 16-1218, despite the fact that it was killed in committee yesterday, is that it was sponsored in the House by Reps. Lori Saine, Patrick Neville, Steve Humphrey, JoAnn Windholz, Kevin Priola, Justin Everett, Clarice Navarro, Dan Nordberg, and Kim Ransom. In the Senate, the bill was sponsored by Sens. Tim Neville, Laura Woods, Chris Holbert, Kent Lambert, Kevin Grantham, Vicki Marble, Kevin Lundberg, and Randy Baumgardner.

In short, many of the sponsors of this bill to require a highly invasive ultrasound for nonmedical reasons of women seeking an abortion are running in some of 2016’s most competitive legislative races. Races where the last thing you want to have is an extreme record on wedge issues. We can’t honestly tell you if they have evaluated the full political consequences of sponsoring a bill like this, or if that have done so, you know, realistically.

But if it’s not used against them with swing voters to devastating effect between now and November, we’ll be very surprised.

13 thoughts on ““Really Small Government”–Abortion Ultrasound Bill Dies”

Moderatus says:

April 22, 2016 at 2:16 pm

Please show me where the words "transvaginal ultrasound" appear in the bill. More Democrat scare tactics like "banning birth control."

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1. MichaelBowman says:
  
  April 22, 2016 at 3:23 pm
  
  …yaps our pro-war, gut the safety net, who has a right to clean air and water Faux-lifer.
  
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  1. Diogenesdemar says:
    
    April 22, 2016 at 6:18 pm
    
    … the documented results of a childhood drinking "Mountain Dew from a sippy cup".
    
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    1. taterheaptom says:
      
      April 25, 2016 at 9:38 pm
      
      I cannot have an empty comment
      
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2. mamajama55 says:
  
  April 22, 2016 at 4:15 pm
  
  "Transvaginal" doesn't appear in the bill text. But "ultrasound" occurs at least 18 times. It's a very poorly-written bill – it attempts to cover every eventuality, such as a woman not having the means to purchase an ultrasound exam, unavailability of an ultrasound exam, etc. It puts in place 24 hour waiting period while the woman "thinks about" the ultrasound results, looks at a printout of it, has to listen to a spiel about alternatives to abortion, etc, etc.
  
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3. Jorgensen says:
  
  April 22, 2016 at 10:50 pm
  
  Read the intent which is clear in the bill. Apparently you;re not a woman. OK. Excuse you. This bill needed to die once again – it's unnecessary, an invasion on private lives and expensive. Redirect your thoughts toward protections against prostrate cancer, getting more Viagra, etc. You obviously can't understand these implications.
  
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  1. Diogenesdemar says:
    
    April 23, 2016 at 10:07 am
    
    There's only one thing he understands, physiologically …
    
    … if there's ever a colon bill introduced in Colorado, he'll be the undisputed expert witness.
    
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    1. Jorgensen says:
      
      April 25, 2016 at 8:39 pm
      
      LOL!
      
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4. taterheaptom says:
  
  April 25, 2016 at 9:37 pm
  
  Sounds like you're Akin for a mix up there Moddy. http://www.lawyerherald.com/articles/43747/20160425/south-carolina-viagra-bill-abortion-double-standards.htm
  
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Voyageur says:

April 22, 2016 at 3:36 pm

Yes indeed, shrink government down to where it fits into a woman's uterus.

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1. Jorgensen says:
  
  April 25, 2016 at 8:41 pm
  
  Or penis and testicles – lets not evoke gender envy or worse, gender discrimination!
  
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Benita Phillips says:

April 22, 2016 at 5:46 pm

It definitely tries to cover "everything?|"….even if the the woman miscarries. It states that the woman shall receive (page 7)(C) A WRITTEN AND ORAL DESCRIPTION STATING WHETHER OR NOT THE WOMAN HAS A VIABLE PREGNANCY, THE LOCATION OF THE FETAL SAC (all found only through TVU), AND THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF A HEARTBEAT. IF THE PREGNANCY IS NOT VIABLE, THE ABORTION PROVIDER SHALL ADVISE THE WOMAN THAT SHE WILL MISCARRY WITH NO FURTHER INTERVENTION UNLESS THE ABORTION PROVIDER HAS EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY. This even tells the provider what to say.

This statement is confirmation of a Transvaginal Ultrsound:

2 (a) (I) page 6: (a) (I) THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE A PICTURE OF A CURRENT ULTRASOUND OF THE UNBORN CHILD PORTRAYING THE ENTIRE BODY OF 2 THE UNBORN CHILD,

As and RN, I find all of this type of intervention DISGUSTING!!!!! INTRUSIVE!!!!! ABUSIVE!!!!!! and GENDER DENIGRATING!!!!! It is clear to me that any woman demanding this of another woman is sadistically hyper-sexualized and needs psychiatric help. Any male that thinks this is appropriate needs to have a tube shoved up their penis to check for syphilis so they don't spread it and because their cognitive reasoning has been lost to other parts.

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1. mamajama55 says:
  
  April 22, 2016 at 9:45 pm
  
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