State Rep. Cherelle L. Parker, D-Phila., said proposed legislation claiming to provide health information to women is “offensive, demeaning and completely unnecessary.”
Parker, who chairs the Philadelphia Delegation in the state House of Representatives, said H.B. 1077, purported to be the “Women’s Right to Know Act,” is “nothing of the kind. Its intent has nothing to do with the protection of women but has everything to do with the subjugation, degradation and control of women in order to prevent them from making critical, intensely personal decisions about themselves and their families.”
House Bill 1077 would require all women seeking an abortion to be subjected to a mandatory transvaginal ultrasound at least 24 hours in advance. It requires the ultrasound screen to be aimed toward the woman’s face but “permits her to avert her eyes” and also requires that she deliver a print of the image to her physician in order to have the procedure.
“This is being promoted by people who otherwise decry the intrusion of government into personal matters,” Parker said. “They have lost all sense of proportion on what is or is not intrusive.”
The Pennsylvania Medical Society and other medical organizations are opposed to H.B. 1077. The bill could be considered by the full House as early as next month when it returns to session.
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