Community Corner

Late Night Comedians Take Aim at Virginia Legislation

Saturday Night Live and Jon Stewart poke fun at Virginia's focus on ultrasound and 'personhood' bills.

The Virginia House of Delegates delayed final voting again Tuesday on the Senate-passed version of a bill that would require women to undergo a mandatory ultrasound before getting an abortion. The bill, which is expected to pass the Republican-controlled chamber, would then be sent to Gov. Bob McDonnell's desk to be signed into law.

Critics of the bill say such legislation would be too invasive and may require a 'transvaginal' probe if the pregnancy is in its early stages. There are two identical versions of the bill, one in each chamber.

The ultrasound bills and Manassas Sen. Bob Marshall's personhood bill, which states that life begins at conception, grabbed headlines across the country for each clearing one of Virginia's chambers.

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Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers jabbed the Virginia legislature during a segment of Weekend Update. (Click here for the full video segment. Warning: some readers may find the content of the video offensive.)

Then, Tuesday night, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart took aim at the ultrasound bill (which also contains language readers may find offensive).

Find out what's happening in Ashburnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Winchester) is sponsoring one of the ultrasound bills.

"It is not invasive," Vogel told the Washington Post earlier this month. "It does not attempt to infringe in any way on the doctor-patient relationship, and it absolutely does not infringe on her right to have an abortion."

Patch editors Lauren Jost contributed to this report.


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