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by Free Market Duck

Idaho’s WinderCare Tramples Upon Women’s Private Property Rights

(Mar 26, 2012)

Boise, ID -- The Idaho Senate last week trampled upon all individuals’ rights when it passed WinderCare, a mandate introduced into the legislature by Senator Chuck Winder that would force women to undergo an ultra-sound test before having an abortion.

The first right stomped upon is the pregnant woman’s right to choose whether to have an ultra-sound.

The second right stomped upon is the woman’s doctor, forced by the state to order an ultra-sound.

Like ObamaCare, which mandates that all citizens must purchase a commodity as a condition of existence, of being a US citizen, WinderCare would mandate a woman and her doctor to perform an ultra-sound procedure as a condition for a possible future – and legal -- medical procedure.

Referring to the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from coercion in person, papers, and effects, WinderCare – like ObamaCare -- is an obvious violation of an individual’s rights on many levels.

First, WinderCare violates a woman’s Fourth Amendment right to habeus corpus, a long-standing writ in British and American law to be free from false imprisonment by either the government or others.  Imprisonment does not only mean to be physically locked up and thrown into jail.  It also refers to illegal detainment or the taking away an individual’s freedom to act, travel, speak, or freedom of exchange in the market.

Under WinderCare, a woman cannot choose to have an abortion unless she first undergoes a government-mandated action of a vaginal or abdominal ultra-sound, thus violating her right to a future voluntary legal procedure with her doctor: an abortion.  Abortions are legal in Idaho.  WinderCare is tantamount to forcing an individual to undergo one procedure in order to perform a second, legal procedure.  

What is WinderCare really trying to do?

It is an obvious punitive action by Senator Chuck Winder – via the State -- to try to coerce a woman to do something – view an ultra-sound of her fetus – in order to coerce her to not do something else – an abortion -- that is already perfectly legal to do.  Punitive action against abortions in Idaho already takes the form of forcing pregnant women contemplating abortion to sign off on a piece of paper that purports to show how an abortion can result in cancer – thanks to a previous pernicious piece of paper introduced and passed in the Idaho legislature by Rep Bill Sali some years ago.

If Senator Winder wants to question the issue of abortion, let him introduce legislation to try that on its own merits.  But introducing legislation mandating that an individual must perform Action A before said individual can perform legal Action B is the height of governmental intervention into the personal life of the individual.

So far, the legislative House in Idaho voted to not proceed with WinderCare in committee.  So they tabled it indefinitely.  Unfortunately, many of the GOP-dominated Reps tabled the issue not because they thought it out conceptually in terms of an individual rights issue, but rather because it’s an election year and they are up for re-election.  The legies got the message after thousands of voters marched on the State legislature either in person or by email.

If WinderCare is enacted into law, think of the precedent it would establish.  The State could mandate that you must perform Action ABC prior to performing any Action DEF.  For example, before you buy a box of doughnuts, Raisin Bran, or woof down a hot fudge sundae, the State could compel you to buy a Diabetes Type II detection kit, video tape it at your doctor’s clinic, and check your blood sugar level.  Or, before you get into your car to drive to work, the State could compel you to drink five cups of Rocket Java to make sure you are wide awake on the freeway.

It is not illegal to eat doughnuts, Raisin Bran, or a hot fudge sundae.  It is not illegal to drive on the freeway.  And it is not illegal for a woman to have an abortion.  So, let’s stop using the State Legislature as a vehicle for throwing presumed moral roadblocks into the private lives of our citizens.

Finally, to the question of should the government finance abortions – or ultra-sounds?

Absolutely not.  Neither at the state or the federal level.

For the same reason that a woman should not be forced to undergo an ultra-sound procedure as a condition for a legal abortion, nobody should be forced to pay for another individual’s abortion.  Both are infringements upon individual rights.  We have already seen how the government mandate for church employers and employees to pay for contraception and abortions under ObamaCare has become a national moral issue.

WinderCare is simply a subset of ObamaCare.  It is an attempt to force an individual to purchase a government-mandated commodity or service against their will.

For the same reasons that ObamaCare is totally unconstitutional, WinderCare is, too. – FM Duck

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