Jon Stewart took aim on Tuesday's "Daily Show" at a Virginia bill that would require most women seeking abortions to first undergo an ultrasound in which a probe would be inserted into the vagina.
Or, as Stewart explains it: "The law states basically that any woman seeking to have the legal procedure known as an abortion must, whether she wants to or not, first must lay back in a chair, her spread legs, feet in stirrups, and have an eight to ten inch wand put inside her — even if the woman in question is pregnant as the result of a rape."
Also read: Jon Stewart: Let's Talk About Contraception and What's Good for Ladyparts
Virginia's General Assembly delayed a vote on the bill Tuesday. One Democratic lawmaker likened the procedure to "a legal rape with an ultrasound probe," the Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported.
The bill's supporters say it has been misrepresented by opponents and on comedy shows, including "Saturday Night Live." Del. Kathy J. Byron, who sponsored a House ultrasound bill, said most women in Virginia already have an ultrasound before an abortion to determine how many weeks' pregnant the woman is. Abortions for women who are less than 12 weeks pregnant are medically different than those who are more than 12 weeks' pregnant, and the wrong procedure could put a woman's life at risk, she told the Virginian-Pilot.
But the ultrasounds are not currently mandatory.
Stewart noted that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is for mandatory ultrasounds — but against full-body TSA patdowns at airports.
"Women might consider this bill a TSA patdown inside their vagina," Stewart said,
Watch the video: