Garry Trudeau Likens Pre-Abortion Sonogram to Rape: ‘You Tell Me The Difference’
- have a physical exam — which may include an ultrasound
- read and sign papers
- From Planned PArenthood site: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-procedures-4359.asp
Garry Trudeau (AP Photo/Douglas Healey)
(CNSNews.com) – In an interview published by The Washington Post on Friday, cartoonist Garry Trudeau, creator of “Doonesbury,” likened the pre-abortion sonogram required by a new Texas law to rape.
“You tell me the difference,” Trudeau said.
The Texas law, signed by Gov. Rick Perry, requires that abortionists administer a sonogram to a pregnant woman 24 hours before aborting her baby.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the law in January, describing its requirements as follows: “The amendments require the physician ‘who is to perform an abortion’ to perform and display a sonogram of the fetus, make audible the heart auscultation of the fetus for the woman to hear, and explain to her the results of each procedure and to wait 24 hours, in most cases, between these disclosures and performing the abortion. A woman may decline to view the images or hear the heartbeat, but she may decline to receive an explanation of the sonogram images only on certification that her pregnancy falls into one of three statutory exceptions.”
The court said that under the law “the physician’s unconditional obligations are merely to display images so they may be viewed, to provide an understandable explanation, and to make audible the auscultation.” The law, the court said, “specifically does not require the physician to ensure the woman views the images, that she understands the explanation, or that she listens to the auscultation.”



