Daily Show mocks Virginia’s ultrasound abortion bill

Jon Stewart spent more than five minutes of his nightly mock news show Tuesday laying into the Virginia legislature and Gov. Bob McDonnell for pushing a bill that requires women to undergo an ultrasound before an abortion.

The bill is intended to deter women from going through with the procedure, but Democrats have harped on one unforeseen consequence that has rallied momentum against the bill. Because a high percentage of abortions occur early in the pregnancy, most women would likely have to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound — the internal exam typically performed in the earliest weeks pregnancy — as opposed to the less invasive “jelly on the belly” procedure.

More serious commentators than Stewart have cautioned that forcing a woman to undergo that procedure is akin to rape, according to the FBI’s updated definition. Even the pro-life Rutherford Institute – backers of Del. Bob Marshall’s personhood bill, which gives fetuses human rights – has expressed constitutional concerns over the ultrasound bill.

Pressure to amend or shelve the ultrasound bill is mounting. Abortion-rights groups delivered more than 30,000 signatures to the governor in opposition to a conservative social agenda they said has led to changes in women’s health laws. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that McDonnell, who previously said he would sign the bill, is working with lawmakers to make the ultrasound optional instead.

Stewart focused on “transvaginal ultrasounds” during his show and what it might mean for women in his patented brand of sarcasm. He ripped into McDonnell for calling the TSA pat-downs at the airport “over the line with regard to people’s concerns about privacy and other civil liberties.”

“Women might consider this bill a TSA pat-down inside their vagina,” Stewart retorted.

Saturday Night Live also has taken Virginia to task over abortion legislation. During a recent episode of its satiric Weekend Update, SNL poked fun at the personhood bill moving through the Virginia legislature.

You can watch the full clip from The Daily Show below.