I know we want to believe the worst about Scott Walker

[cali]

I certainly do, but the Wisconsin abortion ultrasound law does not require a trans vaginal ultrasound. Read the entire piece, which parses the law.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/06/05/walkers-claim-that-a-controversial-abortion-law-allows-a-choice-of-ultrasounds/

[Prism]

1. Thanks for the correction

The sad thing is, women's reproductive freedom is under such sustained, concerted assault right now, I didn't even question the initial story. It just sounded like something Republicans would come up with.

And I still think mandatory ultrasounds are some bullshit, but this caught my eye:

Wendie Ashlock, director of Affiliated Medical Services, an abortion clinic, in 2013 wrote in The Huffington Post that her clinic has always required ultrasounds. “If you go to an abortion clinic that doesn’t insist on an ultrasound, you should walk out the door. It’s just bad medicine,” she said. “It’s the most accurate way to date the pregnancy and determine which type of procedure is most appropriate.”

Even so, that choice and treatment is between the patient and the doctor. The state has no business sticking its nose in it. The only thing the state should bother with is access and safety.

[boston bean]

2. Oh my...

It requires an ultra sound. An abdominal ultrasound is useless early in pregnancy. Which is when most women get an abortion.

And it requires providers to provide visuals. How you gonna get visuals and measurements of an embryo using an abdominal ultrasound in the very early stages of pregnancy?

Please, no one is misrepresenting anything about the law. The article you link to is helpful to show that no matter how they sling this slop, it requires a vaginal ultrasound.

The Walker campaign pointed to sections #1 and #5 to demonstrate that the transvaginal ultrasound is not mandatory:


#1: Perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman using whichever transducer the woman chooses after the options have been explained to her. A facility that offers ultrasounds at no cost to satisfy the requirements of this subsection shall have available transducers to perform both transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasounds.

#5: Provide a means for the pregnant woman to visualize any fetal heartbeat, if a heartbeat is detectable by the ultrasound transducer type chosen by the woman under subd. 1., and provide to the pregnant woman, in a manner understandable to a layperson, a simultaneous oral explanation.

However, supporters of abortion rights point to section #4 as a possible complication:


#4: Provide to the pregnant woman a medical description of the ultrasound images, including the dimensions of the unborn child and a description of any external features and internal organs that are present and viewable on the image.

One legal theory is that because there is no “if” in this section, it puts the burden on the clinician to describe the visual images on the ultrasound screen and provide the dimensions of the fetus. If there are no usable images, then the abortion provider could be in violation of the law, a representative of an abortion provider said. (She declined to be identified because a legal challenge is still being considered. Thus far, no lawsuit has been filed over this provision of the law.)

Sorry, I will take the word of pro-choice persons over the executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life.

[Raster]

4. That's the executive director of Wisconsin No Rights and Anti-Choice

[olddots]

3. I don't want to believe the worst about anyone

Mr. Walker has done a good job by his actions to guestion his intentions .

[FrodosPet]

5. Medically unnecessary procedures should not be forced by the state. Period.

I am a long way from being a medical expert, so take this FWIW.

For a woman who wants to keep her baby, a transvaginal ultrasound appears to be a useful diagnostic tool

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003779.htm

Why the Test is Performed
Transvaginal ultrasound may be done for the following problems:

. Abnormal findings on a physical exam, such as cysts, fibroid tumors, or other growths
. Abnormal vaginal bleeding and menstrual problems
. Certain types of infertility
. Ectopic pregnancy
. Pelvic pain

The abortion procedure itself is very invasive. So why add to that if medically unnecessary?

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-procedures

~ snip ~

ASPIRATION ABORTION — THE MOST COMMON KIND OF IN-CLINIC ABORTION During an aspiration abortion Your health care provider will examine your uterus. You will get medicine for pain. You may be offered sedation — a medicine that allows you to be awake but deeply relaxed. A speculum will be inserted into your vagina. Your health care provider may inject a numbing medication into or near your cervix. The opening of your cervix may be stretched with dilators — a series of increasingly thick rods. Or you may have absorbent dilators inserted a day or a few hours before the procedure. They will absorb fluid and get bigger. This slowly stretches open your cervix. Medication may also be used with or without the dilators to help open your cervix. You will be given antibiotics to prevent infection. A tube is inserted through the cervix into the uterus. Either a hand-held suction device or a suction machine gently empties your uterus. Sometimes, an instrument called a curette is used to remove any remaining tissue that lines the uterus. It may also be used to check that the uterus is empty. When a curette is used, people often call the abortion a D&C — dilation and curettage.

~ snip ~

So, Gov Walker, what part of that procedure calls for a mandatory ultrasound, whether abdominal OR transvaginal?

[JoePhilly]

6. Good thing some one is here to help Scotty out on this important issue.