Indiana Offers Two Vagina Inspections for the Price of One Abortion

What makes an Indiana proposal that would force women to have a freedom wand inserted into their ladyparts before they can have an abortion different from all the other proposals to require pre-abortion trans-vaginal ultrasounds?

The difference, bargain shoppers, is in the value. Most other states only make vagina-having adults go through one invasive and medically unnecessary procedure. But thanks to legislation that just passed the Indiana Senate's Health and Provider Services Committee, Indiana could soon require clinics to give women two trans-vaginal freedom screenings: one before undergoing a chemically-induced abortion and one immediately after.

But wait! There's more!

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South Dakota Asks: Can Women Think on the Weekends?

South Dakota already has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation, requiring women to visit a "crisis pregnancy center" and wait 72-hours after a doctor's consultation before exercising their constitutionally-protected rights. Now, Kate Sheppard has flagged down an exciting new abortion restriction from the people who believe in a government so small, it fits comfortably inside a woman's uterus:

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New Mexico Tries to Out-Clown Arizona

Hey, New Mexico, how upset are you that Arizona's legislature gets all the attention for being a caricature of what a functional state legislature is supposed to look like?

Apparently, upset enough to consider a bill introduced by state representative Cathrynn Brown (R) that could turn victims of rape and incest felons under New Mexico law by turning abortions into "evidence tampering."

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Crazies Gave Roe v. Wade an Anniversary Present

Today marks the fortieth anniversary of the landmark abortion-rights decision Roe v. Wade. And just as it looked like the case was about to enter its midlife crisis phase of declining popularity and constant legal siege, it got a boost from an unlikely source.

According to an NBC poll, more than 50 percent of Americans believe abortion should legal in all or most cases, while 70 percent want Roe to be upheld.

Pollster Bill McInturff cited the candidacies of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock as the catalyzers behind the surge in support for abortion rights:

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Coming Soon to Michigan's Gun-Free Zones: Guns

The end of a lame duck legislative session is always a harried time for state lawmakers as they scramble to pass bills before their terms expire. It's a lot like Cinderella, except instead of dancing with a prince, legislators pass abortion bans. And at term's end, instead of carriages turning back into pumpkins, politicians turn into lobbyists.

So it was in Michigan, where GOP lawmakers, concerned about their diminished majorities in the coming legislative session, stayed up until 4:30 in the morning to pass a raft of legislation for Gov. Rick Snyder's signature.

On top of a right-to-work law Snyder signed on Tuesday, legislators adopted one of the country's most restrictive abortion regulations, renewed an emergency managers law that voters had rejected in a referendum just months before, passed property tax cuts and moved one step closer to re-branding "gun-free" zones as places where the government gives out free guns:

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