Gender Traitor

Sometimes (okay, almost all of the time) I just want to renounce my U.S. citizenship and become an expat someplace where the lawmakers aren't total jackwagons! Some of the statements and proposals made by our elected officials are so blatantly ridiculous and offensive that I am truly embarrassed to admit that I live in this country. Example? New Mexico GOP Representative Cathrynn Brown's recent bill in the State House of Representatives that would prohibit women who have been raped from obtaining an abortion. Why? For "tampering with evidence of a crime" that could land them up to three years in prison. Yes, that's right-prison! For the rape victim!

Even setting aside the question of whether an embryo or fetus can be considered "evidence," proving that a rape victim is pregnant is totally irrelevant to proving that a rape occurred. One does not need to be raped to be pregnant; conversely, one does not need to be pregnant to provide evidence of a rape. The reasoning behind this proposed legislation implies that if a woman does not become pregnant, then no rape has occurred. This bit of insanity even contradicts another great GOP thinker, Senate nominee Todd Akin of Missouri, who recently stated that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy! (How can so many blithering idiots be allowed to govern? Just asking.)

Representative Brown has defended her bill by suggesting that it is intended to punish the perpetrator of the rape who then assists or coerces abortion to destroy evidence of the crime. We all know that the majority of rapists are keen to "assist" their victims in obtaining abortions. They just love to hang around after the crime to see if their victim becomes pregnant so they can coerce her to tamper with evidence. Rep. Brown claims that "by adding this law in New Mexico, we can help to protect women across our state.” I see. The state will be protecting women by prosecuting them for a felony and threatening them with prison. I, for one, am glad I do not have New Mexico's law protecting me! I would like to be able to make my own reproductive decisions without worrying about whether or not I'm destroying evidence!

This assbackwards law would not only criminalize victims of a crime but would most likely prevent rape victims from coming forward to report the crime at all.  Why would a women risk reporting a rape when she would then be forced to carry a resulting pregnancy to term? This law is just one more example of the twisted thinking of the GOP and their assault on women. The fact that it was a woman who concocted this mess of a law astounds me even more. Rep. Brown should be tossed out of office for this offensive piece of legislation. Then she should have her status as a woman revoked as well.