A federal judge has struck down parts of an extreme Texas law going that would require a doctor to show a woman — including a rape victim — an ultrasound, describe the development of the fetus, and give her headphones to listen to a fetal heartbeat before an abortion. Doctors who refused to do these things to their patients — cruel by any compassionate standard — would have been penalized. An injunction issued yesterday blocks the state from enforcing penalties on both doctors and patients.
The judge ruled aspects of the law, which goes into effect on Thursday, were "unconstitutionally vague" and violate the free speech of both the doctor and the patient by requiring "government-mandated speech." In his decision, the judge wrote the law "compels physicians to advance an ideological agenda with which they may not agree, regardless of any medical necessity, and irrespective of whether the pregnant women wish to listen." He continued, "The court is inclined to agree with (the) defendants' characterization that (the) "plaintiffs have chosen to throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks." That's how much respect these anti-abortion extremists have for you, ladies.
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