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South Carolina is So. Fucking. Backwards.

Courtesy of trifecta of New Pairodimes, we learn that The Palmetto State will be requiring women seeking abortions to view an ultrasound image of the fetus beforehand, if proposed legislation to that effect passes.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Women seeking abortions in South Carolina would be required to view an ultrasound image of their fetus before the procedure under a proposal gaining support from lawmakers. If enacted, it would be the first law of its kind in the nation.

The bill's chief sponsor, Rep. Greg Delleney, considers the bill a natural addition to the state's informed-consent law, which requires that women be told about fetal development and offered alternatives to abortion. The law requires a woman to have at least an hour to think about the information before ending her pregnancy.

Delleney's proposal would require patients to certify in writing that they viewed the ultrasound.

Democratic state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter plans to lead the fight against the legislation when it comes up for debate later this month in the GOP-dominated House. But she said she expects the legislation to pass because even lawmakers who don't like the bill will be afraid to vote against it.

Get that? Lawmakers will be afraid to vote against the bill! Why in the world shouldn't they be afraid to vote for it?! This is what the right-wing collaboration of media and politics has brought us, and the only way to beat it is to take it on directly. But oh, no, they're afraid.

Trifecta goes even farther, analyzing this as yet another GOP specialty, an unfunded mandate:

Ok, it's not enough that you insult women into waiting an hour just in case they went to the women's clinic just on a lark, and decided to have an abortion instead of getting their car detailed.

Sadly, women still have abortions even after being humiliated this way, so there has to be another way to make them feel shittier about making a tough decision that is the right choice for them. There is nothing I can see here about who is going to pay for it. What is the cost going to be to the women? Are poor women going to be able to afford the ultrasound? Is the state going to pick up the tab, especially if the woman decides to go through the song and dance and still proceed?

It's sad that Greg Delleney has a forum for his twisted, extreme views. It's even sadder that South Carolina Democrats apparently are too chickenshit to challenge those views.