I didn't think I could like congressional Republicans any less.
For years, federal laws restricting the use of government funds to pay for abortions have included exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. (Another exemption covers pregnancies that could endanger the life of the woman.) But the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," a bill with 173 mostly Republican co-sponsors that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has dubbed a top priority in the new Congress, contains a provision that would rewrite the rules to limit drastically the definition of rape and incest in these cases.
With this legislation, which was introduced last week by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Republicans propose that the rape exemption be limited to "forcible rape." This would rule out federal assistance for abortions in many rape cases, including instances of statutory rape, many of which are non-forcible. For example: If a 13-year-old girl is impregnated by a 24-year-old adult, she would no longer qualify to have Medicaid pay for an abortion. (Smith's spokesman did not respond to a call and an email requesting comment.)
Given that the bill also would forbid the use of tax benefits to pay for abortions, that 13-year-old's parents wouldn't be allowed to use money from a tax-exempt health savings account (HSA) to pay for the procedure. They also wouldn't be able to deduct the cost of the abortion or the cost of any insurance that paid for it as a medical expense.
Thank God this won't make it past the Senate. But these people are an election away from running this country!
6 comments:
"propose that the rape exemption be limited to "forcible rape."
Can anyone explain why there is any exemption if the reason for the ban is that the fetus is a human being and that abortion is murder? Of course you can't. The purpose of the ban is to punish women who chose to have sex and got pregnant; if it's 'not her fault' she can have an abortion. Nothing but sexist garbage.
What's more, by their logic, if she doesn't get the crap beat out of her in the process she must have consented and so was not raped. Ugh is right!
Under criminal law, correct me if I am wrong, not all rape is defined as forced. And woman must always show the court some for of resistance. So if you see rape is inevitable, you had better work on getting the shit beat out of you, or they may claim you "cooperated". And how does this square with the libertarian Tea partiers?
Did you all hear about the Dutch study of 85K women? Pro-lifers say that women who have abortions have long term mental and emotional issues. They study showed the opposite. Women who have abortions seek counseling before hand. But are fine after. Women who have the babies suffer higher rates of depression, are often unbalanced due to the rigors of motherhood that they weren't prepared for. This doesn't surprise me. The only person who knows if she is prepared for a child is the woman.
"And woman must always show the court some form of resistance." The law has been changing. It used to be said that a woman was not raped unless she resisted "to the uttermost." Today courts lean towards accepting verbal rather than physical resistance as sufficient - i.e., saying "no."
The idea that some rape is not forcible is an absurd result of an almost all-male Republican groupthink. It is inherently a violent act to use another person's body agaisnt their will even if it is done without other physical expressions of force. But I'm not surprised to see Republicans want to excuse date rape. Boys will be boys, right? And besides which, she asked for it by dressing sexy. Yes, it's crazy that these misogynists are one election away from running the country (again).
Thanks for the clarification, LTG!
I can't help but think that one day, these guys will get their way and only rich women who can get to Canada will get abortions.
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