In a major victory for women’s health advocates, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has publicly backtracked from his support for a bill requiring women to undergo an invasive transvaginal ultrasound before having an abortion. In a statement released this afternoon, McDonnell offered an amendment that would not force women to receive the procedure. “Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state,” McDonnell said:

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.

The state Senate has already passed the bill, and the House is expected to pass the ultrasound bill as soon as today. McDonnell has previously backed the bill, saying that “the concept that a woman should have all of the information possible before she makes a decision about terminating a pregnancy” and that he would sign the bill.

But the ultrasound bill is still unnecessary. Studies have shown that viewing an ultrasound does not change a woman’s mind before an abortion, and the Guttmacher Institute reports that requiring an abortion only adds to the cost of an abortion. “Since routine ultrasound is not considered medically necessary as a component of first-trimester abortion, the requirements appear to be a veiled attempt to personify the fetus and dissuade a woman from obtaining an abortion,” the group writes.

A depiction of the procedure

But now McDonnell is backing away from his previous wholehearted support of the measure. Earlier, he told ABC News he supports “the concept that a woman should have all of the information possible before she makes a decision about terminating a pregnancy.” Now, his office has clarified that he will “review” the bill if it passes the General Assembly:

“Our position is: If the General Assembly passes this bill the governor will review it, in its final form, at that time,” McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said in a statement. He declined to explain the change in approach, but Virginia’s governors can sign, veto or amend legislation.

The House and Senate have approved their versions of the bill. On Tuesday, the House postponed a final vote on the legislation…for the second day in a row. [...]

The officials with knowledge of Tuesday night’s Republican meeting said GOP leaders hope to introduce amendments on Wednesday, but it is unclear whether the rank and file would support them.

Virginians opposed to the ultrasound bill held a silent protest on Tuesday. Wearing stickers that said, “Say No to State-Mandated Rape” and “Private Property: Keep Out,” several hundred demonstrators locked arms outside of the Capitol. And a new poll shows that a majority in the state oppose the requirement, which has been spoofed by NBC’s Saturday Night Live and mocked on The Daily Show. “This is like a TSA pat-down inside their vagina,” Jon Stewart explained, contrasting McDonnell’s support for this measure and his opposition to TSA pat-downs.

But while Virginia’s governor is backing away from the invasive bill, legislators in Alabama and Pennsylvania are considering the same ultrasound policy. Even though studies show that viewing an ultrasound does not change a woman’s mind about having an abortion, Pennsylvania Rep. Marcy Toepel (R) argued that “Getting an ultrasound is a good thing for pregnant women.”

Seven states already mandate that an abortion provider perform an ultrasound on women seeking abortions and provide women an opportunity to view the image. In Virginia’s proposed law, a woman would have to sign a statement and have the ultrasound image added to her medical records if she refuses to view it.

A Democratic lawmaker in Georgia is responding to a Republican-backed effort to prevent women from receiving abortions 20 weeks after fertilization with a tongue-in-cheek measure that seeks to limit men’s health care choices: legislation that “would limit vasectomies only to men who will die or suffer dangerous health problems without one.” “Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies,” said Rep. Yasmin Neal (D) explained. “It is patently unfair that men can avoid unwanted fatherhood by presuming that their judgment over such matters is more valid than the judgment of the General Assembly, while women’s ability to decide is constantly up for debate throughout the United States.”

The anti-abortion bill (HB 954), offered by Rep. Doug McKil­lip (R), “would effectively outlaw abortion 20 weeks after an egg is fertilized, the point where the lawmaker said fetuses can feel pain,” but would allow for exceptions in cases where a pregnancy threatens the life or health of the women. The bill also does not include exemptions for rape or incest and stipulates that doctors “performing abortions without the justifications the bill requires would be subject to a prison sentence of one to 10 years.”

Fourteen states have imposed prohibitions on abortions after a certain number of weeks, generally 24, and 6 of these states ban abortion at 20 weeks on the grounds that the fetus can feel pain at that point in gestation — a claim disputed by doctors:

Doctors’ groups and other experts testified during a committee hearing that establishing a 20-week rule could force prospective parents to make a decision on ending pregnancies before having all the information available from genetic tests that can reveal whether a fetus has severe physical problems.

“People could be making decisions on information that is not definitive,” said Dan Wies­man, a certified genetic counselor at Emory Health­care.

The concept of “fetal pain” is widely panned by many in the medical field, with the Journal of the American Medical Association determining that “pain perception probably does not function before the third trimester.” So discredited is the concept of fetal pain that even a Kansas Republican slammed the “false research,” adding “I would be embarrassed to be a state that bases its laws on untruths.”

Under current Georgia law, women can have abortions until 26 weeks after fertilization. Beyond that point, the procedure can only be performed “if three physicians agree that the woman needs it for medical reasons that can include mental health issues.”

“The Republican attack on women’s reproductive rights is unconscionable. What is more deplorable is the hypocrisy of HB 954’s author,” House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams (D) said. “If we follow his logic, we believe it is the obligation of this General Assembly to assert an equally invasive state interest in the reproductive habits of men and substitute the will of the government over the will of adult men.”

A Republican lawmaker in Indiana was the only state House member to “refuse to sign a resolution honoring the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts that lawmakers approved last week,” claiming that the “radicalized organization” supports abortions and the homosexual agenda. In a letter obtained by The Journal-Gazette of Fort Wayne on Monday, Rep. Bob Morris (R) informed colleagues that “he did some research on the Internet and found allegations that the Girl Scouts are a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood, allow transgender females to join and encourage sex.” From the letter:

I did a small amount of web-based research, and what I found is disturbing. The Girl Scouts of America and their worldwide partner, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), have entered into a close strategic affiliation with Planned Parenthood. [...]

Nonetheless, abundant evidence proves that the agenda of Planned Parenthood includes sexualizing young girls through the Girl Scouts, which is quickly becoming a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood instructional series and pamphlets are part of the core curriculum at GSA training seminars. Denver Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley of Denver last year warned parents that “membership in the Girl Scouts could carry the danger of making their daughters more receptive to the pro-abortion agenda.”

A Girl Scouts of America training program last year used the Planned Parenthood sex education pamphlet “Happy, Healthy, and Hot.” The pamphlet instructs young girls not to think of sex as “just about vaginal or anal intercourse.” “There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!” it states. Although individual Girl Scout troops are not forced to follow this curriculum, many do. Liberal progressive troop-leaders will indoctrinate the girls in their troop according to the principles of Planned Parenthood, making Bishop Conley’s warning true.

Morris also said the fact that first lady Michelle Obama is honorary president “should give each of us reason to pause before our individual and collective endorsement of the organization” and criticized the group for accepting “Boys who decide to claim a ‘transgender’ or cross-dressing life-style.”

Indiana Republicans are keeping their distance from Morris and his allegations. Rep. Kathy Richardson (R) spoke in support of the resolution last week and told the Journal-Gazette, “I guess he’s entitled to his opinion…They are out selling cookies – not sex and abortions.” House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) said he hasn’t read the letter or “investigated [the Girl Scouts] closely.”

Virginia Del. Mark Cole (R) is sponsoring a bill that would eliminate Medicaid funding for abortions.

Now, legislators are continuing their assault on women’s access to abortion with HB 62, a measure that would prevent Medicaid from covering abortions for low-income women when a doctor finds that the fetus “would be born with a gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency.” A Senate committee approved the House bill Thursday, sending it to the full chamber. The House already passed the bill.

The bill’s sponsor Del. Mark Cole (R) dismissed criticism that the policy could force the state’s poorest women to give birth to mortally deformed fetuses that have no chance of survival after delivery, arguing that religious people shouldn’t have to fund abortions:

“Why should the most vulnerable women in Virginia be forced to carry a doomed pregnancy to term,” Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, angrily asked Cole.

Cole is backed by advocates from anti-abortion and religious groups including the Virginia Roman Catholic Diocese. He contends that it’s unjust to force people with strong religious or moral objections to the procedure to pay taxes that underwrite publicly funded abortions.

“We’re not going to force the taxpayers, many of them who think it’s immoral … to pay for that abortion,” Cole said. His bill, like current federal policy, would allow public funds in Virginia to pay for abortions only in cases of rape, incest or pregnancies that imperil a woman’s life.

After the House approved the bill, Del. Charniele Herring (D) said that if HB 62 passes the legislature and is signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), then “Virginia will show itself as a state that lacks compassion for the poorest women among us. It is time to stop beating up on the poor and destroying our safety net.” The Virginia Pro-Choice Coalition tried to make the same argument yesterday to the Senate committee. According to the group’s statement, “HB 62 will leave low-income women in Virginia with no options for a pregnancy that has gone tragically wrong.”