Del. Dave Albo

Of all the debate raging over a controversial bill in Virginia that would have required pregnant women considering abortion to first undergo a transvaginal ultrasound procedure, perhaps none was more revealing than what happened between one member of the House of Delegates and his wife this week.

The Washington Examiner’s Steve Contorno caught wind of a private moment that did not go the way Del. Dave Albo wanted:

Del. Dave Englin, D-Alexandria, apologized on the House floor Friday to Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Winchester, the ultrasound bill’s sponsor, for something Englin said during the debate two days earlier, on Wednesday. Moments later, Albo … stood and told the chamber that he, too, deserved an apology from Englin.

Now, just why did Albo feel he needed an apology? Earlier in the week, Albo had introduced amendements to the bill that changed the invasive ultrasound method to an external, “jelly-on-the-belly” exam. In those deliberations, Albo exchanged heated words with Englin on the house floor.

Cut to that evening, and Albo, after putting his kids to bed, was in the mood for some loving, Contorno reports:

The delegate took some red wine into the bedroom and turned on his big screen TV to find the Redskins Report because, he said, “my wife loves the Redskins more than she loves me.”

And just in case news about a mediocre team in the middle of the NFL offseason wasn’t sexy enough, “Albo then cued some mood music … and put his arm around his wife.” But then he started flipping through the channels and stopped when he saw his own name on the screen, accompanied by video of his argument with Englin. The bedroom turned frigid, Contorno writes:

Albo and his wife watched as Englin appeared on their screen debating the bill yelling about “trans v this, and trans v that,” Albo said. Apparently, all that transvaginal talk—and Englin’s head plastered on Albo’s giant screen—was quite the turn off for Albo’s wife.

Is there a lesson to male lawmakers in Virginia and other states considering anti-abortion bills that would require women to undergo invasive and unwanted medical procedures? I’m thinking that maybe instead of reading the talking points from groups like the National Right to Life Foundation, these guys should hit the classics. Aristophanes’ Lysistrata would be a good start.