ABORTION

Pa. Gov. Attacked for Ultrasound Quip

Says a woman “just has to close your eyes.”

A week after Virginia signed a controversial ultrasound bill into effect, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is under fire for saying he backed the bill and making off-color remarks in the process. Corbett said he supported the bill so long as it’s not intrusive. But asked how he feels about a woman having to view an ultrasound before having abortion, he responded, “I don't know how you make anybody watch. You just have to close your eyes.” During an interview segment on MSNBC, former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell called Corbett a “decent, honorable man,” but said his comment—and the bill itself—were out of line. “It amazes me that conservatives—and Gov. Corbett campaigned as a conservative—want to have government out of everything, [but] are willing to have government mandate procedures like this.”