Virginia GOP's "Personhood" Bill Sparks Outrage and Ought to Be a Message to Voters

Nothing underscores the unbridled extremism of the Republican Party of Virginia more than the so-called "personhood" bill which could be utilized to outlaw all abortions in Virginia - even those involving rape - and to curtail many popular forms of contraception. Those who fell for the Republican line that they would focus on economic issues and jobs ought to realize by now that they were lied to. Nothing has been to address the state's horrible transportation problems and across the state public education is facing huge funding cuts. But the political whores of The Family Foundation - a far right "Christian" organization affiliated with Daddy Dobson's Focus on the Family and the hate group Family Research Council - in the Virginia GOP have found plenty of time to meddle in the bedrooms and personal lives of women and LGBT individuals all across the state. What's happening in the Virginia General Assembly ought to be a wake up call to the fact that the GOP must be divested of control of the legislature. State level elections will not occur until 2013, but the voters need to start to show their wrath in 2012 by voting against every GOP congressional candidate. If this doesn't happen, God only knows what further insanity the Virginia GOP will undertake in the 2013 General Assembly session. CBS News looks at the outrage among women in Virginia. Here are some highlights:

A petition opposing two abortion-related bills winding through the Virginia legislature is spreading like "wildfire." In just over 24 hours, 17,000 people have signed the measure that says the Virginia government is conducting a "war on women."

The petition is organized by ProgressVA. Most of the signatories say they are Virginia residents and most are women, and the message they give is clear: The government is overstepping its bounds. "This war on women has got to stop," the petition reads. "Virginia may be the butt of jokes for late night comedians, but the bills coming out of the General Assembly this year are no laughing matter."

Catherine from Richmond wrote next to her name: "I say to you men in the Virginia legislature - Leave our bodies alone. This is not your place; this is not your right. What you're doing is immoral."

The petition is addressed to The Virginia State Senate, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and Governor Bob McDonnell as they are instrumental in the future of these bills. (McDonnell is considered a rising star in the Republican Party. He has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate.)

The Virginia House of Delegates passed HB 1, also known as the "personhood" bill, this week. It defines a fertilized egg as a person, and according to the legislation, "provides that unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the Commonwealth."

The second bill petitioners object to is HB 462, which requires a woman receive a transvaginal ultrasound before an abortion. Both bodies of the legislature have passed this measure and only needs Republican Gov. McDonnell's signature before it becomes law. Scholl says they will continue to spread the word and hope to deliver the petitions as early as this week.

Only time will tell whether Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell understands that he could likely be killing his political future if he doesn't veto these bills if they pass the GOP controlled General Assembly.