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Amidst a growing national outcry, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell reversed course on a bill that would require ultrasounds for women seeking abortions. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, McDonnell announced his change of heart in a statement this afternoon:

“Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state. No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure.”

McDonnell said he has recommended to the General Assembly a series of amendments to the bill “to explicitly state that no woman in Virginia will have to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound involuntarily.”

“I am asking the General Assembly to state in this legislation that only a transabdominal, or external, ultrasound will be required to satisfy the requirements to determine gestational age,” McDonnell says in the statement. “Should a doctor determine that another form of ultrasound may be necessary to provide the necessary images and information that will be an issue for the doctor and the patient. The government will have no role in that medical decision,” it reads.

The Post has McDonnell’s full statement, in which he touts his pro-life bona fides while saying that the Virginia legislature may have overreached with the proposal. (He doesn’t back away from the ultrasounds completely, just those of the transvaginal variety.) In recent days, Virginia’s many pro-life proposals have been mocked and decried by everyone from pro-choice groups to Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show.