i want/demand palin be asked to justify charging rape victims for their investigation

[seabeyond]

when all other crime is paid by tax payers, why is a rape victim charged for a rape kit to have her crime investigation.

this is not a LITTLE issue. as a woman, this is HUGE. and i want issue asked and answered.

alaska is 2 and half times higher in rape and incest across the nation.

she charges rape victims to have their crime investigated. and she fired the man who put an effort in doing something about this

women, DEMAND this over the next four days

this HAS to be a questioned asked palin. and then biden can talk about what he passed for women


yesterday i told three women about this and all three mouths dropped open. they had no idea. they were horribly offended

[texastoast]

1. Damned straight--it is HUGE for women

Who decides the debate questions and where can we place our input. Do you know?

[seabeyond]

19. per the other rape thread, i get the feeling this is not suppose to be an issue. woman. wtf. n/t

[glowing]

2. Actually, I want her to know her candidate and defend him and his policies.

I'm quite sure she still doesn't have all of his policies memorized.. especially, when the maverick changes his mind every day on issues.

[seabeyond]

3. there is an hour and half. this is ONE question. i think they can do both. n/t

[emilyg]

4. Alaska not the only state that did this.

[texastoast]

5. Which others? n/t

[Shrek]

8. Apparently there are several

From MPR:

It's not just Alaska. Last winter, the Raleigh News & Observer in North Carolina uncovered a similar policy on a statewide basis.

The vast majority of the 3,000 or so emergency room patients examined for sexual assaults each year shoulder some of the cost of a rape kit test, according to state records and victim advocates. For some, it's as little as a $50 insurance co-payment. For those without insurance, it's hundreds of dollars left when a state program designed to help reaches its limit.

Apparently, the practice is more common than most people think.
said Ilse Knecht, deputy director of public policy at the National Center for Victims of Crime in an interview with U.S. News & World Report. "We've heard so many stories of victims paying for their exams, or not being able to and then creditors coming after them."

"The bottom line is these services cost money," Rebecca Andrews, a hospital's vice president of finance told the paper. "We do sometimes forgive. It's case by case. But where do you stop? We treat gunshot wounds, stabbings, abused children. No one asked for that to happen."

According to Knecht, under the Violence Against Women Act, local governments have to pay the full costs of the rape kits. But some victims are still being charged anyway.

According to Knecht, reports from the field indicated recently that caseworkers in Georgia, Arkansas, and -- wait for it -- Illinois are running into the same policy as the one in Wasilla. According to a 2004 summary by the group, in Illinois, Obama's state, there is "no charge to a victim who is ineligible for services under Illinois Public Aid Code and who has no insurance."

[texastoast]

13. That just puts her right with the pathetic and hateful mindset

"Eight years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska Legislature to pass a bill -- signed into law by Knowles -- that banned the practice statewide.

"'There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla,' Knowles said."

The woman has no heart and this is more evidence of her backwardness.

[seabeyond]

14. as she claims to be a feminist and uses as a campaign. biden is the feminist. n/t

[kestrel91316]

20. Illinois DOES NOT charge women for the kit and send them to collection

if they can't pay. There is NO COMPARISON.

"........According to a 2004 summary by the group, in Illinois, Obama's state, there is "no charge to a victim who is ineligible for services under Illinois Public Aid Code and who has no insurance"..........."

[seabeyond]

27. excellent. thank you krestrel

[emilyg]

16. Illinois was one.

[seabeyond]

17. then she can bring illnois up if she wants..... and biden can say he penned a bill to absolutely

address and solve this problem.

more than she did

[seabeyond]

18. then she can bring illnois up if she wants..... and biden can say he penned a bill to absolutely

address and solve this problem.

more than she did

[texastoast]

22. But hasn't been for many years, correct?

Obama filed legislation to change state law so that the victims don't pay. It was signed by the governor of Illinois in 2001.

[seabeyond]

26. obama, biden and palin all seem to be a part and two pro woman, one anti

thanks for the information

[seabeyond]

6. do i give a shit. this is a woman, she proclaim "feminist". surely she would stand up for womens

rights to have their investigation paid for by taxes. i dont give a shit about the other states. i do give a shit about palin decisions.

IF she wants to use that as her answer, so be it.

as a woman i want to KNOW why she wants to charge a rape victim.

the state of alaska heard she was doing htis and had to pass a state law saying unacceptable. they could figure it out. why not her

then what else did she do to solve the HUGE issue of females being raped in her state 2 and a half more than anywhere else in this nation.

and biden can talk about violence against women act

[cags]

7. I've read Alaska is the only one, and that the state tried to stop it but Wasilla fought it

[seabeyond]

12. other states dont matter. this was palins town she was mayor of. alaska state heard about it

and passed a law against it. the state of alaska recognized the wrong, and fought HER to correct.

she claims to be a feminist. it was HER role. and she failed. she can explain why.... to the nation of women

and then biden can tell her how one stands with women

[ladywnch]

9. even better now, she's claiming she didn't know about the practice

even though there is documentation showing her sign off on it. she is DEFINITELY qualified to be VP in this administration.....just lie and deny.

[seabeyond]

15. i want the commentator to point out the difference on who stand up for women. n/t

[pipi_k]

28. Oh god...she's pulling a Bush????

He never knew anything that happened in the entire eight years of his *residency

Maybe she figures if it worked for him, it should work for her too.


bleh

she is just nasty

[seabeyond]

29. might as well. ignore a subpoena. i tell ya n/t

[Cresent City Kid]

10. 3 strikes on rape for Palin

1. Making rape victims pay for rape kits. The issue isn't the price or savings to the state, but the principle of who's side you're on.

2. Firing a state official for appealing to the federal government for funding to fight this serious crime. Again, who's side are you on?

3. Leaving pregnant rape victims no choice but to raise the child of their attacker, and having to see his face for the rest of her life in that child. Even the average pro-lifer doesn't go this far.

I'm not a woman, so I make these comments with trepidation, but it's clear Palin is on the wrong side of a serious issue. How does any politician anywhere come down on the wrong side of this?

[seabeyond]

11. why shouldnt you too be offended. you have mother, sisters, daughters, wife.

it is your issue too

[Cresent City Kid]

21. I am offended, very much so

I was only being respectful. I have opinions, and I will voice them, but I defer to women on their issues in a respectful, not condescending way.

Someone very close to me was raped so this hits home with me, more than just the fact that I have women in my life affects my views on this.

[seabeyond]

24. that is just nice of you BUT..... be confident. if speaking from heart

and you have an empathy, you also have the power and know. the reason i am mentioning this. i think this is the exact feel i am fighting now. biden man should defer to palin the female. allow her to own feminism when it is false. and biden minimize his role as feminist when he is strong advocate

we have to get beyond that

like the mccain protection of female.

reality..... sexist not allowing her to own self and prove self. they are stifling her. but protection of female feels right from how conditioned. yet hillary didnt use and she was out there and she was not treated to sexism by dems (i believe media yes) and she was strong hear her roar and an excellent kick ass example of feminism

[Buck Rabbit]

23. Your point number 2 is being overlooked by most. and these need to be

tied as it shows a pattern.

[seabeyond]

25. YES... thank you. why isnt every single woman PISSED. i am.

can ya tell. lol