“Rape and incest was used as a reason to oppose this. I would hope that when a woman goes in to a physician with a rape issue, that physician will indeed ask her about perhaps her marriage, was this pregnancy caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by a rape. I assume that’s part of the counseling that goes on.” - Idaho State Senator Chuck Winder (Republican-Boise), suggesting that women may lie about being raped in order to obtain an abortion.
Winder made these remarks during closing testimony on legislation, which he sponsored, that would require women to obtain an ultrasound prior to an abortion.
Additionally, there would not be an exception for victims of rape, incest or women in a medical emergency. More from HuffPo’s Laura Bassett:
If Winder’s mandatory ultrasound bill becomes law, a victim of rape or incest or a woman with a medical emergency who is seeking an abortion must obtain an ultrasound first and the state will provide a list of providers. Nearly every provider of free ultrasounds in Idaho is a “crisis pregnancy center,” which aims to dissuade women from having an abortion. The woman would also have to obtain from a doctor a second ultrasound, which would involve an invasive transvaginal procedure if she is in her first trimester of pregnancy. Even if she averts her eyes from the ultrasound image and refuses to listen to the fetal heartbeat, she would have to hear the doctor describe the fetus in detail.
State Rep. Cherie Buckner-Webb (D-Boise) responded to Winder’s remarks:
Let me tell you, a comment like that is very painful. A comment like that is what keeps women from coming forward.
The legislation passed in the Idaho Senate 23-12 and now heads to the House.
