A potent ally, or potential ally, in the war on women's health is the medical community. That became obvious this week in Pennsylvania, when the proposed
mandatory ultrasound bill there, was
delayed.
The Pennsylvania House postponed a scheduled March 12 vote on the bill. House Majority leader Mike Turzai, a Republican, said the debate was cancelled due to “concerns raised by the medical community, among others,” Philly.com reported. The Pennsylvania Medical Society, which has no official position on abortion, opposes the bill because it would potentially interfere with the physician-patient relationship.
Here's what the Pennsylvania Medical Society says about the bill:
“If enacted, House Bill 1077 would significantly jeopardize the open dialogue within the physician-patient relationship, which is the very foundation upon which modern medicine was built,” said Marilyn J. Heine, MD, president of (PAMED) in a letter to the House.
These mandatory ultrasound bills do directly jeopardize the doctor-patient relationship. They would also compel doctors to ignore the
guidelines the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) on the use of ultrasound in pregnancy. ACOG's guidelines are very specific:
The use of either two-dimensional or three-dimensional ultrasonography only to view the fetus, obtain a picture of the fetus, or determine the fetal sex without a medical indication is inappropriate and contrary to responsible medical practice. [emphasis added]
The medical community needs to speak out on these proposed laws all over the country. It's not just women's health care that's under attack here, it's the physician's autonomy and the physician's professional responsibilities under attack as well. The national medical community needs to respond. So let's start at the top.
Sign our petition to the American Medical Association asking it to take a public stand against state governments mandating unnecessary, unwanted and invasive trans-vaginal ultrasounds.