A woman’s “right to know”?: Forced ultrasound measures as an intervention of biopower

This article examines the recent introduction of forced ultrasound-beforeabortion measures in select U.S. states as an intervention of gendered biopower. These measures are drafted based on model legislation entitled the Woman’s Right to Know Act. Such legislation exploits a discourse of women’s health, but invests in fetal “life” by regulating the behavior of pregnant women so as to promote the carrying of pregnancies to term; the legislation also represents childbirth and motherhood as in the interest of women’s health. Ultimately, I contend that Right to Know measures give the state permission to override the choices, rights, and interests of the population of pregnant women as a whole in an attempt to “protect” and optimize a supposedly vulnerable fetal population.