http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/gop-bill-would-exclude-incest-and-drug-inducement-from-definition-of-rapeFebruary 1st, 2011 12:25 pm ET.
A new bill being pushed by Republicans in the House of Representatives would redefine "rape" to exclude cases of incest and drug-induced non-consensual sex. The bill in question is H.R. 3 the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act." In an effort to restrict funding for abortion as much as possible, the bill restricts the definition of "rape" to cases in which actual force was used by the perpetrator. Cases where no force is used would be excluded, and the victims would be forced to pay for the abortion out of their own bank account since the law prohibits health insurance from covering abortions.
H.R. 3 deals with a current law commonly called the "Hyde Amendment" which prohibits taxpayer funds being used for abortions. Under Hyde amendment, government funds distributed through programs like Medicaid cannot go to abortion procedures. In addition, any tax-exempt health insurance plan (which is most plans) must not cover abortions. Over the years the Hyde Amendment has provided exceptions for all cases of rape, whether by force or other means. H.R. 3 would do away with this exception for all cases of rape, and instead restrict the definition of rape to only cases of "forcible" rape.
The effects on some victims could be dramatic. As Mother Jones points out, a 13 year-old victim of incest would no longer be covered by Medicaid in order to get an abortion. A female victim of the "date rape drug" would not be covered by her insurance policy if she wanted to get an abortion from a resulting pregnancy. Any victim would presumabl have to prove to their insurance company that they were not only a victim of rape, but a victim of forcible rape.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
