Legitimate rape makes a reappearance (s/o abortion post)

[NewOrleans]

Did we discuss?
(For, if the vasectomy thing in MO is true, I am strongly against that too!)



A Missouri Republican is pushing a bill that would allow a man who gets a woman pregnant to stop her from having an abortion. The measure would force a woman who wants an abortion to obtain written permission from the father first—unless she was the victim of "legitimate rape."

Rick Brattin, a state representative from outside Kansas City, filed the bill on December 3 for next year's legislative session. The proposed measure reads, "No abortion shall be performed or induced unless and until the father of the unborn child provides written, notarized consent to the abortion."

The bill contains exceptions for women who become pregnant as the result of rape or incest—but there are caveats.

"Just like any rape, you have to report it, and you have to prove it," Brattin tells Mother Jones. "So you couldn't just go and say, 'Oh yeah, I was raped' and get an abortion. It has to be a legitimate rape."

Brattin adds that he is not using the term "legitimate rape" in the same way as former Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), who famously claimed that women couldn't get pregnant from a "legitimate rape" because "the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down."

"I'm just saying if there was a legitimate rape, you're going to make a police report, just as if you were robbed," Brattin says. "That's just common sense." Under his bill, he adds, "you have to take steps to show that you were raped…And I'd think you'd be able to prove that." The bill contains no provision establishing standards for claiming the rape or incest exceptions. It also doesn't state any specific penalties for violating the law nor say whether a penalty would be imposed on the woman seeking the abortion or the abortion provider.

Missouri is home to only one abortion clinic, based in St. Louis. Each year, legislators target the clinic with dozens of new restrictions. In 2014, the GOP-controlled Legislature approved a bill requiring women seeking an abortion to wait 72 hours between the initial consultation and the procedure. It's the longest abortion waiting period in the county.

A group of Democratic lawmakers in Missouri found the onslaught of anti-abortion bills so ridiculous that in 2012 they introduced a bill to ban vasectomies except to save the life of a man. If conservative male lawmakers imagined jumping through hoops to obtain reproductive services, the thinking went, they would see the absurdity of their anti-abortion crusade.

Not Brattin. The father of five says that his recent vasectomy was the inspiration for this bill.

"When a man goes in for that procedure—at least in the state of Missouri—you have to have a consent form from your spouse in order to have that procedure done," he says. "Here I was getting a normal procedure that has nothing to do with another human being's life, and I needed to get a signed form…But on ending a life, you don't. I think that's pretty twisted."

A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, a group of clinics that perform vasectomies, says that there is no law in Missouri requiring a man to get another person's permission for a vasectomy. Individual providers sometimes require a patient to have his partner's consent. (Planned Parenthood of Missouri does not.) Brattin saved the document his wife signed and intends to share it with other lawmakers when it comes time to promote his bill.

Brattin notes that his bill also contains an exception for cases in which continuing the pregnancy would endanger the life of the mother. Women whose partners have died can sign a sworn affidavit to that effect.

When asked if he would support an exception for women whose partners are abusive, Brattin says, "I haven't really thought about that aspect of it." But he adds, "What does that have to do with the child's life? Just because it was an abusive relationship, does that mean the child should die?" Brattin notes that women in these situations can obtain protective custody once the child is born. (Voodoo note lol x infinity)

Asked about Casey v. Planned Parenthood, a 1992 Supreme Court decision striking down a requirement that a woman inform her husband if she haves an abortion, Brattin says he doesn't believe the ruling affects his bill. Because Missouri has laws requiring men to pay child support during a pregnancy, he contends, a bill requiring a man's involvement in an abortion should be constitutional.

In 2013, Brattin sponsored a bill to give intelligent design and "destiny" the same amount of attention in Missouri textbooks as evolution. Brattin has cosponsored many anti-abortion bills, including several measures restricting medication abortions that passed the Missouri Legislature in recent years. His latest bill, which would allow a man to veto a woman's decision to get an abortion, is identical to a measure Brattin proposed in April that died in committee.

"This bill is insulting and a danger to women in abusive relationships," says M'Evie Mead, the director of statewide organizing for Missouri's Planned Parenthood affiliated. "That's very much our concern. But when it comes to abortion, Missouri legislators are always trying to outdo each other."


www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/12/republican-wants-women-get-permission-father-having-abortion?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_article

[meshaliuknits]

I hate people.

Sent from my EVO

[orangeblossom]

Dec 20, 2014 12:11:02 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

So if he doesn't sign a woman has to carry a baby she may not want? Is that what he is proposing?

Yes, yes, he is, unfortunately. He was inspired by his own vasectomy experience, so we should be too. Not.

[saz]

Give me a fucking break. How can these people be serious with this shit? I hate that idiots like this are running our country.

[wrathofkuus]

So yet another wealthy aryan man wants to make new laws giving him more control over women. What a fucking surprise.

[josieposy]

Brattin adds that he is not using the term "legitimate rape" in the same way as former Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), who famously claimed that women couldn't get pregnant from a "legitimate rape" because "the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down."

Nope ladies. He found a totally new stupid way to use the term.

[Deleted]

I was pissed that I had to sign a consent for a vasectomy.

[taratru]

This makes me RAGE.

on a related note, DH didn't have to sign when I got my procedure. Is this a state thing?

[cattledogkisses]

I am not usually given to profanity, but WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK.

Signed, rape victim who never reported it to the police for myriad reasons. Apparently it wouldn't have been "legitimate" enough for an abortion had I gotten pregnant according to this asshole. 

[waffletime]

The answer to "I had to get my wife's consent for a vasectomy" is not "make women get consent for abortions" it's get rid of the fucking need for consent for a vasectomy.

[cattledogkisses]

I mean, it's totes easy to report a rape. You only have to retell in detail one of the most humiliating and traumatizing moments of your life (probably multiple times to multiple people), get crucified in the court of public opinion, have people ask what you were wearing, if you were drinking, how you lead him on, and otherwise imply that you asked for it, have your previous relationships hashed out so people can judge how slutty and promiscuous you are, and face possible retaliation from your attacker.

Easy peasy, right Rick Brattin? (you dickbag)

[blink]

Fucking fuckity fuck.

[mrsukyankee]

The thing is, in his state you DON'T need a woman's permission for a vasectomy - it's only specific doctors that ask for it for fear of being sued. So he's full of SHIT!!!!

Plus it will never go anywhere because it isn't legal, and hasn't been for a very long time: in 1976, Planned Parenthood v. Danforth made it unconstitutional for a woman to have to get spousal consent to obtain an abortion. This will just tie up the taxpayers money.

[anastasia517]

Dec 20, 2014 11:54:19 GMT -5 incogneato said:

Oh, and GTFO with that "what does abuse have to do with it" bullshit since last time I checked, women were more likely to be phsycially abused while pregnant than any other time, and pregnancy and children are frequently used as a way for abusive men to keep control over their victims. OMG I hate him.

Found this:

"For many women, pregnancy marks the beginning of a turbulent and violent time. It's estimated 1 in 5 women will be abused during pregnancy. Even more alarming—as the murders of Liana White and Laci Peterson suggest—homicide during pregnancy now surpasses automobile accidents and falls as the leading cause of death."

and

"According to a number of studies, homicide is one of the leading causes of death for pregnant women in the United States. Studies in Maryland, New York and Chicago determined that about 20 percent of women who die during pregnancy are murder victims.

Some states do not even keep track of the number of a pregnant women killed by boyfriends or husband. But the Washington Post identified more than 1,300 during a 14-year period ending in 2004."



But hey, who really cares if a woman gets killed by her abusive spouse when she goes to ask him for his PERMISSION for her to have a medical procedure, because, ya know, it's not like her life is even as valuable as a small cluster of cells in her uterus.


HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE

I already hated this for the aforementioned reasons, but this really struck a cord with me too.  Because if a woman has been isolated, put down, financially stuck, assaulted, or otherwise abused of course she will have a hard time leaving.  And of course the abusive spouse will use threats about the children.  LET'S MAKE IT HARDER FOR WOMEN TO GET OUT OF ALREADY DIFFICULT SITUATIONS.

Never mind that abusing somebody in front of a child is considered a type of child abuse.  Yet this guy thinks that essentially guaranteeing that the children born in these cases will be subjected to it is a good idea.  Let's just bring more kids into an already fucked up situation, that's a surefire way to ensure that we break the cycle of domestic violence.

[anastasia517]

Dec 20, 2014 15:07:55 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

The thing is, in his state you DON'T need a woman's permission for a vasectomy - it's only specific doctors that ask for it for fear of being sued. So he's full of SHIT!!!!

Plus it will never go anywhere because it isn't legal, and hasn't been for a very long time: in 1976, Planned Parenthood v. Danforth made it unconstitutional for a woman to have to get spousal consent to obtain an abortion. This will just tie up the taxpayers money.

Why am I not surprised that this guy lied about that, too?

[tres3]

Let's say this was to pass. How would they enforce? If I were a dude I'd advertise on Craigslist that I'm available to provide male consent for abortion. Are they going to run expensive dna testing on every aborted zygote?