One of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws went into effect Wednesday in North Carolina after a federal judge temporarily halted the law's most controversial requirement — that a woman getting an abortion must first view a narrated ultrasound image of the fetus. U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles ordered a preliminary injunction late Tuesday, ruling that the ultrasound requirement likely violates patients' First Amendment rights.

You know we are on the losing end of the War on Women when this is touted as a victory:

The feminist blogosphere and advocacy organizations pronounced this ruling a victory because women in North Carolina won't be forced to look at an ultrasound image of their fetus at least four hours before terminating a pregnancy. For now.

But it's a pretty small victory when you consider the other components of the ridiculously named "A Woman's Right to Know Act" that were upheld. Women will still be forced to have an ultrasound; they just won't be required to look at it. And doctors will still have to tell their patients about "any medical risks or 'adverse psychological effects' of abortions." You know, like how abortion causes cancer (it doesn't) and will probably turn the woman into a suicidal and/or homicidal maniac (it won't).

And the state will still have to list crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) on its website for women seeking abortions. Just in time, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina released the results of its 10-month undercover investigation of North Carolina's CPCs:

Investigators were told medical inaccuracies including, "The AIDS virus is smaller than the holes in condoms," and "30 percent of women attempt suicide after an abortion."



In total, 61 out of 66 facilities did not report any medically trained or medically supervised personnel on staff.



Even in the rare cases of centers that are overseen by medical professionals, there are no regulations in place to ensure that confidentiality is protected and that women will receive medically accurate information and services that meet an appropriate standard of care with respect to all reproductive health options.

Think about that. You're pregnant in North Carolina. You are seeking information about obtaining a legal medical procedure. You turn to the state, and you're directed to a religion-based center that doesn't even have any medical professionals on staff. Just what kind of medical information are you going to get? According to NARAL's investigation:

[O]ne investigator who posed as a pregnant Jewish woman was given a Bible and told by volunteers at five different CPCs that she would not go to heaven unless she became a Christian.

Which year of medical school do you think they teach converting the heathens?

Some additional findings from the investigation:

26% (17 of 66 CPCs) incorrectly stated as fact that abortion leads to breast cancer.

48% (32 CPCs) advised women seeking family planning services that none of the common methods of birth control are effective at preventing pregnancy.

24% (16 CPCs) suggested the high possibility of miscarriage as a reason to avoid an abortion.

And no, that last point does not make any kind of sense. But then, that's the kind of "medical advice" you get from pregnancy centers that don't actually employ medical professionals. Not that they will actually inform their patients customers that they don't provide actual medical care:

Only 24% (16 CPCs) disclosed that they are not medical facilities.

A woman's right to know apparently does not include her right to know that there are no medical professionals at the "medical facility" she is directed to by the state.

The other, not-so-victorious provisions of the law that were upheld include a 24-hour waiting period, during which time women are required to review printed materials that show:

[P]ictures or drawings representing the development of the unborn child at two-week gestational increments. The pictures shall contain the dimensions of the unborn child, information about brain and heart functions, the presence of external members and internal organs, and be realistic and appropriate for the stage of pregnancy depicted. [...] The printed materials shall prominently display the following statement: "The life of each human being begins at conception. Abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique living human being."

The law describes that required information as "objective, nonjudgmental, and designed to convey only accurate scientific information about the unborn child at the various gestational ages." Because telling a woman that life begins at conception and the grape-sized clump of cells inside her uterus is a "separate, unique living human being" is considered science in North Carolina.

These are the hoops through which women in North Carolina must still jump in order to obtain a medical procedure. But at least looking at the ultrasound image of the fetus is no longer one of them.

And this is what passes for a victory in the war on women's reproductive rights. Which shows just how badly we're losing the war.

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This week's good, bad and ugly below the fold.