House GOP version of New Rules-Redefining Rape.
Read Time:2 Minute, 57 Second
Instead of concentrating on jobs, these turds are looking to restart the culture wars by rewriting various laws already enacted, such as DC gay civil rights, national abortion rights, end funding for Amtrak and the National Endowment for the Arts and now redefining rape. From MotherJones (opens in new tab):
Rape is only really rape if it involves force. So says the new House Republican majority as it now moves to change abortion law.
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.
*snip*
“This bill takes us back to a time when just saying ‘no’ wasn’t enough to qualify as rape,” says Steph Sterling, a lawyer and senior adviser to the National Women’s Law Center. Laurie Levenson, a former assistant US attorney and expert on criminal law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, notes that the new bill’s authors are “using language that’s not particularly clear, and some people are going to lose protection.” Other types of rapes that would no longer be covered by the exemption include rapes in which the woman was drugged or given excessive amounts of alcohol, rapes of women with limited mental capacity, and many date rapes. “There are a lot of aspects of rape that are not included,” Levenson says.
Do they actually think this crap through? Of course they do! Not even allowing people to use their own money to pay for a child’s legal medical procedure is disgusting if not bordering on illegal. Rep. Chris Smith (R- NJ) is a long time douchnozzle when it comes to being anti-choice and forcing his agenda upon women. Check out the link and you can see his logic is so out there it’s friggin scary and that newspapers allow this nitwit to write OpEd’s and actually print them tells us all we need to know about the Corporate Media. That he continues to get elected really tells us alot about his constituency as well.
Now however, he has the power to make laws for the entire nation. Obama has the power of veto, we can only hope he will use it if anything this jerkwad does, gets that far.
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Nice to c and I agree a bit there with ole 4D~! Good post Dusty.
I’m convinced there is more to the almighty $ attached to this pro-lifer stance / abortion abolishinism than we are given any clue to. The pharma industry makes much more money on birthing babies than it does on abortions. I think that all life is sacred… I also depend on science and my spiritual awareness to assist me to understand when life is being ‘murdered’. I am pro-choice, like my catholic, republican Mom who told me I had a choice and to come home if ever i was ‘in trouble’.
Hello Gwendolyn,
That is what is nice about being pro-choice. It’s all up to the individual and their conscience.
Big Pharma surely does have a stake in this issue and that is an excellent point m’dear lady! That said..they also make a lot off of birth control and Plan B medications as well, so it has always bugged me as to why they don’t lobby for more open access to birth control med’s with their paid-for elected friends, the R’s and D’s.
Dusty, I don’t think there is too much profit in it.
Gee, it seems I am only seeing big corps as “engulf & devour” machines anymore. **how sad** Remember when big companies’ (some) were good to all who interacted with them? Like Eastman Kodak? There are Green companies… big ones too! Have to start mentioning & supporting them! right?
If birth control was available to every woman that wanted it, there would be more profit to Big Pharma and less to the folks who make prophylactics(although for safe sex they rule).
Personally I see all Corporations as greedy f*ckers these days. Even green ones try to kill off their competitors or cut corners in producing their products which make problems for them down the road. Also, with the high cost of lobbying Congress Critters and hiring said lobbyists they jack up the cost of making their products or providing their services to consumers ..which to me translates into greed.
Sometimes I think that we give lawmakers too much credit for thinking through all possible implications of their laws. Remember the law passed out west, where people could surrender their kids at hospitals without facing charges? It was intended to protect newborns, and the next thing you know, you have people driving from Iowa to drop off their 13-year-old grandchildren because they’ve become too much to handle.
Lawmakers don’t always realize the full breadth of the writing of their bills.
In this case, I’m positive that one intention was to stop providing any funding/support/tax breaks for abortions for underage women who have consensual sex with older boyfriends–which in itself is controversial. I’m not sure they thought about the implications for 11-year-olds impregnated from molestation by a male relative, for example. Or, they may have, and may simply not care. Who am I to say…
I do think that the move is one based on religious and personal views that are potentially detrimental to women who are victimized, or facing complications in pregnancy. For not wanting government to play a strong hand in medical care, they sure are quick to use law as a tool to manipulate people’s medical choices where it clashes with their own beliefs.
Greenlight, I know the religious right and those who want all underage females to get parental permission for everything sexual in nature have an agenda on this. Plus as always, the religious right just wants to shut down anything that even smells like it’s prochoice in the reproductive arena.
Rich in irony don’t ya think? Makes me wanna slap the taste right out of their yaps.
Personally I reckon some Anarchy would help democracy. Really I do. Our (Western) politicians are so corrupt they clearly don’t give a shit about this sort of thing…I suppose it ain’t a vote winner…
Still…Obama wasn’t a vote winner and he got there…alright…he’s the first black Prez and isn’t making much difference but so what???….Mandela spent forever in prison and he made a difference eventually!!!!
Stick with your democracy America…stick with your laws and, ultimately, you’ll shine on!!! It may be shite sometimes but at least it’s democratic shite!
One day 13 year olds will be safe if you stay the course.
After all…what have we got if we dump what we have? Imperfect it surely is but better an imperfect democracy and legal system than the totalitarianism of Isl…er….can I say this?….no idea…oh WTF…Islam….or, come to that…Fascism (which is on the rise in England)
What I’ve read above is horrific but there is more horror in this world.
Don’t condemn what you have….strive to make it better than you realised it could be.
Nice post Dusty, these bastards really tend to appeal to society’s lowest common denominator. And I agree with Jess, a cynical ploy for votes. I’d say Machiavellian, but don’t want to give them too much credit.
They definitely need their tiny parts snipped off, maybe a nail clipper would do the trick.
Tiny parts…LMAO Oso!
The Repugs are just bound and determined to drag us kicking and screaming into the Dark Ages.
I am still sitting sputtering. While I am not in favor of violence I wouldn’t mind meeting this jerk in a back alley for about ten minutes. It most likely wouldn’t change his mind but it would make me feel a whole lot better. I guess we are stuck with these idiots forever but I sure wish the voting public would get wise to them.
WAFormby..these culture wars were part of Rove’s bs when he brought Bush43 into power. Since they have no plans or ideas to bring us jobs or put us back to work, they bring us bs and smoke and mirrors on all these other issues mostly wedges issues.
Stimpson, I was fighting w/the damn feature image thingy so long (it kept cutting off the writing part of the image so I had to edit it on my computer first) I didn’t get to write the misogynist part of the post but you are spot on m’dear. That f*cker Smith can kiss my big brown arse..each cheek twice a day for friggin month. I despise men like him and a baseball bat is something I handle quite well and would love to demonstrate it to him.
Jess, TO put it short n’ sweet: they can cutoff my reproductive rights if I can cut off theirs,literally..deal? 😉
No I can’t let you put your ass in harm’s way, why would you torture yourself, having it kissed by that toadie? You might catch something you know. Just trying to protect yer bum here 🙂 Hell, if men had the ability to become pregnant it would be abortion on demand, at drive through windows even. Now I am not linking the evolved man here, up with toadies like Smith, so don’t get bent about it.
Oh and not for nothing but what is non forcible rape, as opposed to forcible rape anyway? This has nothing to do with rape, imo, and everything to do with funding for abortions. Bastards
Jess, I found my favorite graphic and changed the bottom one on the post. Nah, I wouldn’t let that douchenozzle touch my bum w/his lips. But I would touch his bum w/a Louisville Slugger. I am a liberal but I ain’t a pacifist.
There has been a law in place for friggin ever about federal funding of abortions..its outlawed fer christs sake Its called The Hyde Amendment! So what their plan is..to outlaw all abortions. They keep whittling away at the law and eventually it’s gone!
The word ‘misogynist’ is grossly overused, but it does apply here. This is so repugnant that it’s downright depressing to contemplate how people like Chris Smith can get elected.
I just went online and made a substantial donation in his name to Planned Parenthood, and asked that they send him a card to thank him for the donation. Here ya go, his contact information if you feel so inclined to let him have an earful.
http://chrissmith.house.gov/Contact/
No is no is no whenever it is said. If sex continues after any no it is rape, period, dot, end of the story.
ah fer feck’s sake. I just got through fighting a fundy about this and now I am online looking for a burqua to show up at the next republican meeting in my area(no, I’m not kidding). This is what it will become if we don’t stop it, a theocracy where women are chattle to be passed from father to husband. You know, like in the good old days when all we did was cook for the men folk and have their babies.
Makes me sick to think, they are still using stuff like this so wimmin who bump teh uglies and get pregnant can’t have abortions. That is what it is all about, women’s choice and autonomy over their own damn bodies. I wish to hell they would keep their nose out of mah gurly bits and what I do with them.
It has nothing to do with rape, which is bad enough in and of itself they are using this as a cynical ploy to the rubes in exchange for votes. This is a backdoor way to the alley medicine of coathangers and sacs of poison, up teh wimmin’s hoo haa so she can terminate a pregnancy, maybe die in the process instead of safe and legal abortions.
It has nothing to do with rape, which is bad enough in and of itself they are using this as a cynical ploy to the rubes in exchange for votes. You are correct Jess. It’s how they work up the base and get them out to vote. But its a tad early to do that. They see how Obama’s numbers are going up whilst their;s are going in the crapper lately, so this is all they got. It worked back in the 90’s and they hope to hell it will work now. On the uneducated masses it does.