The conservative crusade against women’s health

There seems to be a trend among the Republican Party regarding women's health: they don't care for it. It isn't as if this is anything new or surprising in itself, but what is astounding is the number of bills that have come up in state legislatures that would severely hinder a woman's right to choose whether or not she is pregnant.

Last Tuesday, a fetal personhood amendment passed through the Virgina House. This bill would define a "person" as existing from the moment of fertilization. In addition, the bill would require that women go through a transvaginal screening procedure before getting an abortion.

The passage of this amendment is problematic for several reasons. First, it obviously attempts to deny women control over their reproductive system. If a woman doesn't want to become a mother, she should be able to have the reasonable option of ending her pregnancy. (I won't say any more about this; the arguments for and against abortion are best left for another column.)

Second, the requiring of a transvaginal ultrasound is wrong for two reasons. First, displaying the image of a woman's uterus is a clear ploy to try to psychologically coerce women into changing their minds about getting an abortion. This is already an extremely tough decision for many women, and it's insulting to assume that they are unaware of the implications of that decision. And second, the fact that this ultrasound must be transvaginal is essentially state-sanctioned rape. An internal ultrasound is medically unnecessary for an abortion, and forcing a woman to go through such a procedure is wrong, and even possibly traumatizing for women who have been victims of sexual assault.

Finally, this bill does more than just affect already pregnant women — it affects some forms of birth control, as well. This is something that even anti-abortion advocates should be alarmed by. By defining a person as simply a fertilized egg, this effectively criminalizes any form of contraception that works by keeping already fertilized eggs from implanting into the uterine wall. This includes "the morning after pill," or Plan B, which logically should be promoted by anti-abortion advocates, as it's a last-ditch attempt against unwanted pregnancy.

However, their unfortunately skewed definition of a "person" makes it so that even relatively noncontroversial health options are considered to be part of their anti-women's-health crusade. In addition, any woman who accidentally terminates her pregnancy by something such as falling down the stairs is at risk for a manslaughter conviction. This is clearly unjust punishment for a woman who would already be mourning the loss of her pregnancy.

As scary as this Virginia bill is, what's worse is that they are only one of dozens of states introducing women's-health-restricting legislation. And one of those states is unfortunately our own.

Late last week, Iowa Representative Kim Pearson introduced what some are calling, according to ThinkProgress, "the nation's most radical abortion bill." This bill, if passed, would make "feticide" simply mean the causing of an abortion, and would make it into a Class A felony, which is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole. As the law in Iowa currently stands, this would change the definition of feticide from being only after the end of the second trimester, and would change the felony classification from "C," which is punishable by 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

We need to let our legislators know that we won't stand for this type of crusade against women's health. Even those who are undecided on the issue of abortion can probably agree that life imprisonment is an unreasonable punishment for an abortion, to say the least. If you want to make sure this doesn't pass, stay informed on the bill's progress through committee and write to your legislators if it looks like it has support. We cannot sit by and watch our own state join several others in the conservative crusade against women's health.