Man, I wonder what Laura really thinks about everything. She’s still measuring her words. Via.
Man, I wonder what Laura really thinks about everything. She’s still measuring her words. Via.
Another day, another dangerous Republican nutcase. This time it’s a female lawmaker in New Mexico who introduced a bill that would legally require rape victims to carry their pregnancies to term. Why? Because she wants the fetus to be used as evidence in a sexual assault trial.
This insane bill will probably not pass since Dems hold the majority in both chambers of the New Mexico state legislature, but the fact that it was even introduced is beyond disturbing. Unfortunately, this kind of extremism is becoming more commonplace (and/or perhaps more widely reported), and is not only appalling, it’s downright scary.
So to those of you who need even more proof that there is a War on Women, here it is, perplexingly brought to you by a woman, via HuffPo:
House Bill 206, introduced by state Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R), would charge a rape victim who ended her pregnancy with a third-degree felony for “tampering with evidence.”
Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico, a progressive nonprofit organization opposing the bill:
“The bill turns victims of rape and incest into felons and forces them to become incubators of evidence for the state,” he said. “According to Republican philosophy, victims who are ‘legitimately raped’ will now have to carry the fetus to term in order to prove their case.“
Davis called the bill “blatantly unconstitutional.”
When it comes to rape, Republicans have yet to learn to keep their big mouths shut. Their bizarre, backward attitudes have never served them well, as Richard Mourdock, the guy who says rape pregnancies are “intended by God“ and Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin can attest, and have spotlighted their insensitivity and ignorance.
But to try to force birth by criminalizing rape victims is beyond the pale.
Cher and Kathy Griffin on Mitt’s efforts to turn back time on women in the latest video from the Actually… series. When lies go unchecked, we all lose. Actually.org spreads the truth, because the truth matters—even in politics. Our team calls ‘em like they see ‘em, and we hope you’ll support the truth by sharing Actually.org videos before Election Day.
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“A blue Senate……” Nice to see my fellow Hoosiers aren’t all nimrods. But in the same vein, they’re going to screw up and elect Pence governor, which means more “privatization”.
(CNN) – A poll of likely voters in Indiana showed Democratic Senate candidate Joe Donnelly with an eleven point lead over GOP rival Richard Mourdock, whose comments on rape and abortion in October drew consternation from Democrats and some Republicans.
The survey from Howey Politics and DePauw University indicated Donnelly, a three-term congressman, was at 47% among likely Indiana voters in the race for the state’s U.S. Senate seat, compared to 36% who support Mourdock, the Indiana state treasurer. A Libertarian candidate, Andrew Horning, was at 6% in the poll.
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Melissa Harris-Perry’s letter to Richard “when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen” Mourdock sends a painful, heartfelt, powerful message that everyone needs to hear.
Thank you Melissa.
“Rape and sexual assault are complicated experiences for survivors. Some of us fight, kick, scream, and resist at every moment. Some of us eventually give in to save our own lives or to manage the horror. Some of us know that what is happening is rape, others of us just know it is wrong, but don’t have the words to describe why. Some of us push the memories down and try to forget, others of us battle openly with the nightmares and scars every day. There is no one right way to survive. There is no one right way to feel.
As we heal, we learn not to judge ourselves or to judge our fellow survivors, because we learn that judgment can wound as deeply as assault. If a woman finds herself pregnant after a rape, we do not judge the choices she makes. [...]
But the whole point is choice. Consent. You see, Mr. Mourdock, the violation of rape is more than physical. Rapists strip women of our right to choose, of our right to say no, of our right to control what is happening to our bodies. Most assailants tell us it is our fault. They tell us to be silent. Sometimes they even tell us it’s God’s will. That is the core violation of rape– it takes away choice.
Richard, you believe it is fine to ignore a women’s right to choose because of your interpretation of divinity. Sound familiar? [...]
Now let me say this very clearly to you Mr Mourdock, and to all of your shameless endorsers: we did not survive an attack on our consent just to turn around and give up our right to choose to you. Not without a fight.
Are you sure you want to have that fight?
Sincerely,
Melissa”
Complete transcript here.
Today’s L.A. Times letters to the editor, because our voices matter:
Re “A row over new rape comment,” Oct. 25
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock of Indiana says that when a woman is impregnated during a rape, it is “something that God intended to happen.” Mitt Romney, who appeared in a TV ad supporting Mourdock, is talking like a moderate lately. But this type of thinking is anything but moderate.
Over the last two years, from the Republican Party we women have gotten efforts to require trans-vaginal ultrasounds before abortions and expressions like “legitimate rape.” And now this.
Such remarks are offensive and disrespectful to women everywhere.
Alba Farfaglia
San Clemente
—————————————————————-
I suspect that God’s logic is more humble and better than the Senate candidate’s. Mourdock knows God deliberately controls the result but the devil controls the act? Sounds like he is confused. I am seeking a shred of humility in his uttering and find none.
Mourdock’s logic places a man above all as he maintains that the seed from him is God-directed. Scary. Will he next mandate that a woman be executed for enticing a poor, God-driven man to rape?
Norma Pierson
Altadena
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