Can of worms

One day after Obama signed health care reform into law, Bob McDonnell signed the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act (link #1).  Its purpose is to protect "ALL Virginians from having to pay for health care they don’t need, want or can’t afford.”  On March 7, McDonnell directly contradicted himself when he signed his own health care mandate that dictates to women what medical procedures they need and forces them to pay for them, whether they like it or not. 

Doesn't this imply that the governor is breaking his own law? How is it possible that those two statutes coexist in the same set of state laws?  Does one of them carry more weight than the other?  If so, which one trumps the other?  How can this withstand a court challenge ANYWHERE in the country? I have to wonder how anyone could argue this is not hypocrisy on steroids?  How can any rational citizen avoid drawing the conclusion that women in Virginia are excluded from the same protection being afforded all MALE Virginians under the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act? 

The mandate is also in direct conflict with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines which clearly state that any type of ultrasound performed to view the fetus or to determine its gender is contrary to responsible medical practice, despite what VA legislators and the governor have decided is appropriate.  It specifically states the purpose of the scan is to determine gestational age, in direct defiance of ACOG guidelines, which also establish that the use of ultrasounds is a decision to be made by the “physician or medical physicist” on a case-by-case basis.  Neither state legislatures nor governors are mentioned anywhere in those guidelines, so one has to believe they have taken it upon themselves to PLAY doctor instead and to deliberately institute unsound medical practices, regardless of any potential consequences.  By the way, ACOG restricts the use of ultrasounds based on safety considerations for both the mother and fetus.    

This information raises a few more questions.  Can a state be sued for malpractice?  Can they issue licenses to practice medicine to themselves?  Can they be prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license? 

If it looks like can of worms, smells like a can of worms and slithers like a can of worms....it's probably a can of worms. 

http://www.vc4l.com/downloads/VirginiaHealthcareFreedomAct.pdf

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/03/08/virginias-pre-abortion-ultrasound-law-medically-unsound-violates-guidelines-of-american-college-of-obstetricians-and-gynecologists/