Before I even started writing this article, I knew it was going to be an easy one to write. It usually is the things we feel most passionate about, that brings out the best in us. Well, I guess it can go both ways, because there are some whose passions bring out their worst side.

I was shocked to learn, that there are laws mandating a woman have an ultrasound before having an abortion. Laws in the United States, that force a women whether she chooses one or not, to have an ultrasound of the pregnancy she has already decided to terminate.

For one of the very few times in my life, there is no gray area for me on this. I am so far beyond horrified that I cannot even attach a word for how I feel. A woman has already made the heart breaking decision to have an abortion-, which is legally her constitutional right, and yet the government will still require she have an unnecessary ultrasound! The punishment does not end there, because in most cases she is held responsible for the ultrasound bill as well.

The future looks even darker for women and choice in Texas, where legislature is in the works to force women to listen to the fetal heartbeat prior to having an abortion. What kind of world are we living in? Has anyone done a study on the mental health outcome of women forced to have an ultrasound after already deciding to end the pregnancy?

It’s a hard enough decision but to have it rubbed in your face, not only to sway you to do what their group as a whole believes is right for you, but to punish you, if you go ahead with the abortion. That is a cruel tactic to use to impose your views on women, in a very difficult time in their lives. You would have to be naive not to think there are negative consequences to these horrid abortion provisions.

Anti-Choice groups often throw around statistics of the women hurt by abortion both mentally & physically. Are they collecting any data to give statistics on the percentage of those hurt by abortion in cases where the woman was first forced to have an ultrasound? That added factor alone, could change the statistics entirely.

Adding guilt and shame to these women over a personal decision, that is suppose to be all her own, is not helping your cause or women as a whole. It solidifies what pro-choice supporters have been saying all along. All the anti-choice groups care about are the rights and lives of the unborn.

It is not equal opportunity support. It is not about the right to life. It is about being able to force your views on everyone else and punish those who do not do as you think they should. In addition, there is no real concern for the pregnant woman. If she goes ahead with the abortion, she is no longer of use to the pro-life cause. All the care and concern she got while she was pregnant, is over as quick as it began.

Now the woman will have the ultrasound image with her in her mind forever, but those are the consequences she suffers for going against everything you tried to use to change her mind.

When I did some research on the ultrasounds before abortion, I thought it would be all about the crisis pregnancy centers, which also frequently use the scan as leverage for the life side. I did not expect to find that I live in a country that accepts this kind of intentional torture prior to a procedure that is already legal.

There is so much more I want to know and do about this blatant and disgusting tactic to make women second guess their decision, their lives, & for many, their reality. This will be my first of several articles on ultrasounds before abortion.

Something must be done about provisions like this, which allow lawmakers to alter the care you receive, based on their moral beliefs. This is not a one size fits all society, and I am tired of the segue used by the self-righteous, to impose their truths on non-believers.