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Saturday, January 29, 2011

The GOP 's sick, twisted men
Posted by Jill | 7:18 PM
You really have to wonder about Republican men. These are the guys who rail the most about family values but have affairs themselves. They call others corrupt when their own histories are questionable at best. And they stand for reproductive policies that punish women and girls while their own ranks are rife with sex offenders, many of whom prey on underage girls and boys.

In the past, they have advocated laws requiring minors to have parental consent for abortion on the grounds that without such laws, men who prey on underage girls (like some Republicans???) will be able to hide the consequences of their actions (such as pregnant 12-year-olds). But now, even though the Hyde Amendment prevents federal funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or endangerment of the woman's life, New Jersey lunatic wingnut Congressman Chris Smith has decided that while he's not quite ready to protect fathers who rape their daughters, and he knows it's political suicide to come out and say that women are just garbage to be thrown in the trash if it meqans saving a fetus, what he CAN do is define what constitutes rape. Yes, folks, a Congressman from New Jersey is all set to redefine rape according to his own twisted vision:
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. 



So if your twelve-year-old is sexually attacked by a neighbor, and her attacker says he'll kill her if she doesn't keep quiet and do what he wants, in Chris Smith's world she wasn't actually raped. And if your twelve-year-old becomes pregnant as a result, and your insurance doesn't cover abortion, and you want to use your flex or HSA money to pay for it, Chris Smith won't let you do that either. Because Chris Smith thinks your daughter is a dirty slut who asked for it.

And this is one of the new GOP Congress' first priorities.

Where ARE those jobs, anyway? Or are we too busy painting scarlet letters on women who are assuaulted by guys like Chris Smith?

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