GOP removes “forcible rape” language from bill

In case you missed it, the bill by House Republicans that many groups felt sought to redefine rape has been revised. 


Last week, several mews outlets such as Mother Jones reported on Chris Smith’s “No Taxpayer for Abortion” Act, which would rule out federal assistance for abortions in many rape cases, such as statutory rape—in which force was not involved or could not be proved.including instances of statutory rape. (For years, federal laws restricting the use of government funds to pay for abortions have included exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.)


Yesterday, POLITICO reported that Smith has retreated, nixing the “forcible rape” language from the bill. “The word forcible will be replaced with the original language from the Hyde Amendment,” Smith spokesman Jeff Sagnip told POLITICO, referring to the long-standing ban on direct use of taxpayer dollars for abortion services.


Why the change of heart? Well, because people got pissed! From Mother Jones:

The GOP effort to rewrite the meaning of rape incited a Twitter campaign of protest (using the hashtag #dearjohn). Editorial pages and columnists protested. Progressive groups initiated a crusade to kill the bill. And The Daily Show, of course, got in the act (around 9:15) too. MoveOn.org launched a petition against the bill, saying Smith’s legislation would “set women’s rights back by decades…As far too many women know, bruises and broken bones do not define rape—a lack of consent does.” EMILY’s List, issued its own petition, declaring war on the bill and one of its most prominent proponents: Speaker of the House John Boehner. Its website,BoehnersAmerica.org, urged “Boehner and his cronies to stop using rape victims as political pawns.” The group said, “it was known from the beginning that Boehner and his boys would fight to take away women’s freedoms whenever possible.” 

This all just goes to show why it’s so important to speak out when you think someone is trampling on your rights.