The transvaginal probe - Get Out of My Vagina!

The political shenanigans of last month here in Virginia prompted me to create a painting depicting how I feel about it.  Here's is what happened:  the General Assembly suddenly had a majority of Republicans in both houses, and the Governor, Bob McDonnell is a conservative Republican as well.  That gave them the perfect opportunity to try to pass legislation which had been in the background for years but had always been tabled by more moderate members of both houses.  One of the bills was the Personhood bill which would have defined a person as anyone who had been conceived - i.e. as soon as conception took place.  It could create absurd situations as well as life-threatening ones.  For example, if a woman found she had an ectopic pregnancy, her doctor would not be able to operate on her to save her life because it would threaten the life of the "person" in her tube - even though that "person" could in no way come to term in that woman's Fallopian Tube, and the mother would almost certainly die as a result of the pregnancy. Absurd consequences would be like a woman being able to claim the right to be in the HOV-2 lane because she had just had sex the night before and might be pregnant.  Thankfully that bill was not passed.

The other bill which concerned many people greatly was called the Ultrasound Bill.  It required that a woman get an ultrasound before she could have an abortion.  If she were less than 12 weeks pregnant, the only kind of ultrasound which would have any kind of effectiveness would be a vaginal probe.  She would not be able to refuse it.  At first she was required to see the picture.  The image would be put into her permanent medical records.  She would have to wait 24 hours after the ultrasound before getting the abortion.  People were in an uproar at the thought that a woman would be forced to have a vaginal probe inserted into her vagina - that is tantamount to the state's definition of rape - something being inserted into a woman's vagina against her will - so again, doctors could be in trouble just for trying to do their jobs.  And women who had been raped or incested, especially, could be re-traumatized by this procedure.  There were protests at the State Capital.  I went to one of them.  1100+ people stood silently by as the legislators walked to the Capital for the day's session.  They were soon informed by their aides why we were there.  Afterwards we went to their offices to speak with their aides and to express our strong opinions.  I only saw decent, kind, reasonable behavior on all sides.  The crowd was mixed age, mixed race, both genders.

The hoopla continued for more than a week with protestors going down to the GA (General Assembly) daily to witness the proceedings.  The Governor had originally come out in favor of the bill but soon became a bit more tentative.  The wording was changed to say the vaginal probe would not be required - they could have an abdominal sonogram instead - completely ineffective, but at least a step in the right direction. 

Sadly, the revised bill passed both houses and will become law.  Now a woman desiring to get an abortion - a legal procedure - will have to get an ultrasound at increased cost and will have to wait 24 hours before getting the abortion.  The effect will most likely be to keep poorer women from being able to afford abortions, and it will, of course, make it more ponderous and difficult for everyone.

What confuses me is that the same people who are FOR the ultrasound bill and who want to make abortion illegal again, are also against contraceptives AND against help for poor people.  How do they expect poor people to get out of poverty if they have no way to control their reproductive life.  I realize they could abstain from sex, but that is not realistic, especially not for married women.  And not really for anyone once they come of age.  Let's be real.

So it's a confusing time in our Commonwealth.  It appears that our lawmakers want us to return to the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant.  I sense they must be fearful that we will begin to have some real power and might begin to change things from how they are now.  I can understand how that could feel threatening.  But it is not OK with me.

Women are 51% of the population.  We could, actually, unseat these men who feel so threatened.  And we could create a fairer, more compassionate world to live in.  That is certainly my vote.

I have been stymied as to what to do about the situation.  I have been very vocal on Facebook.  I have ranted to friends and family.  I have journalled about it.  Then one morning I woke up with the image of this painting in  my head.  I knew I had to do it.  I am a visual artist, so it is beholden upon me to use my skills to do what I can do make a difference.  This is what I'm choosing to do about this problem.

The image is graphic, so if you're at work, you probably don't want to scroll down to see it.  Wait til you're in a private place.

The picture makes me feel uncomfortable to look at.  It was uncomfortable to work on.  But it needed to be done.  The man holding the probe is our illustrious governor, Bob McDonnell, parodied on Jon Stuart's show as Vaginal Probe McDonnell - the one with Vice Presidential aspirations.  No more!  The model is a bold and brave woman who was courageous enough to model for me because she believes in the message I am trying to get across - which is that the State has no right to be inserting themselves into our bodies.  No way.  No how.

If you are concerned about this issue, don't let the laws pass in your state.  VOTE in November.  Find out who is for such horrifying bills and vote them out of office.  You must get involved in order to keep this from happening where you live.  It is a national movement with major funding.  We can make a difference if we work together for change.  We women fought hard for our rights in the 20's and again in the 70's.  It is hard to believe we're back there again, but we are.  Please, please, please help us change the world for the better.  The alternative is truly frightening.


The image I painted is below the asterisks if you want to see it.  Feel free to share it freely with others.
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