New Mexico Gov. Requires Women Seeking Childcare Assistance To Prove They Were ‘Forcibly Raped’

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Think Progress

New Mexico Gov. Requires Women Seeking Childcare Assistance To Prove They Were ‘Forcibly Raped’
By Tara Culp-Ressler on Sep 20, 2012 at 2:06 pm

After Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) asserted his belief that “legitimate rape” doesn’t often lead to pregnancy, Republican lawmakers were quick to attempt to configure his radical stance on women’s health as an outlier in their party. However, increasing numbers of GOP politicians’ language about the nature of sexual assault actually echoes Akin’s — including New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R), whose state’s policies use language that effectively narrows the definition of rape.

Not only did Martinez refer to “forcible rape” in an announcement instating April as New Mexico’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month — as if some kinds of sexual assault need to be qualified as more or less “legitimate” than others — but, as RH Reality Check reports, the term also appears in the state’s proposed changes to its official applications for childcare assistance. If the proposed changes take effect, women in New Mexico will be required to prove that their sexual assault qualified as “forcible rape” if they are seeking childcare assistance for a child that resulted from rape:

If adopted, this policy will have numerous implications. It establishes in state law a narrow definition of rape that can and will be applied in other areas of law and policy. It puts a heavy burden on women who have been raped and are now struggling economically to support a child or children to prove the manner in which they were raped and to meet a test set up by the state to exclude many women in need of childcare assistance who would otherwise qualify.

It would force women who have left violent domestic partnerships, who were date-raped, who were impregnated as a result of incest, or through other “non-forcible” but nonetheless equally violent and denigrating means of sexual violation to first re-engage with their abusers to seek child support, putting control of their lives back into the hands of someone by whom they were violated in the most profound sense of the term.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/09/20/881971/new-mexico-gov-forcible-rape/?mobile=nc

[qb]

1. Sick. I hope the media rakes her over the coals for this.

[burrowowl]

15. The Abq Journal won't

How I wish the Trib was still here
Maybe the Alibi will say something,
I'm spreading the word on this.

[Cleita]

2. Yes, all rape victims are making cell phone videos while being attacked.

Martinez is a moron.

[McCamy Taylor]

3. But this will increase abortion rates. Does the GOP want to increase abortion rates?

[EC]

7. You're right it would.

For the ones that know about the law. The low info women will be stuck.

[Liberalagogo]

4. That's right ladies

You make sure you get in in writing.

Check one:

___ I would liked to be raped please (NO means YES)

___ Do not rape me (See above)


If the above statement is not witnessed and notarized within 12 hours, your rape claim is invalid.

[defacto7]

5. Ignorant, divisive

It's hard to believe people like this still exist... in power positions no less.

[ronnie624]

12. The salt on the wound,

is that it's being instituted by a woman.

[defacto7]

13. Unbelievable

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Exponential Growth in attacks:

[maindawg]

8. its been a two year long hissy fit

these laws are outrageous. we had this debate 40 years ago. You can examine the causes and roots of these type of ideologies. And you will be digging very deep into the American monster. We are an opinionated and aggressive people by our nature. We arent afraid to fight and so live to fight. We arent used to long periods in our history where we live and struggle to survive. Hundreds of years to develop an better understanding about how life should be. We rushed to write down a set of rules, and they are good rules, but then we didnt bother to learn these rules.
We allow our politicians , police, and powerful abuse these rules, dis abuse these rules and we do not care. We dont live by these rules either. We pretend to live by them. And we pledge our allegiance to an imaginary man in the sky. And we persecute anyone who wont play along. We persecute anyone who cant defend themselves.
We are bullies. we make laws to hurt people. We imprison innocent people for profit. We execute innocent people for profit. We do anything for money. We have sold our national soul to the devil while we pretend to worship an imaginary man. All the while we feast at the alter of American exceptionalism. We are as fat as pigs. we eat garbage just like pigs and we avoid information like the plague. We would rather not know. But we condemn one another and the rest of the world at the flick of the moment.We are degenerates who do not care , have no respect for one another, we are the best educated ignorant generation of people who have ever graced the face of the earth in these numbers.
There are so many of us, we cannot get out of our own way. Put another way...........

Todays republican party is in a competition to see who can be the biggest asshole in the world. So as a result we thousands of assholes trying to out asshole each other and this is what you get.

[Solly Mack]

9. Fuckers

[Odin2005]

10. Da fuq is this sexist drivel?

[mikki35]

11. Revision needed here

She had it pulled today - specifically directed they pull the word 'forced' from the definition:


[link:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/susana-martinez-forcible-rape-new-mexico_n_1901130.html|

[qb]

16. Good. A little sunlight sends the cockroaches skittering for cover.

I bet Gov. Martinez got more than an earful from her constituents, among others.

[Hugin]

17. So, they still need to prove they were raped?

That's all removing "forcible" does.

What constitutes proof? A conviction? Who decides?

It's still totally unsatisfactory.

[Socal31]

14. Obviously if it was legitimate Rape there would be no child.

F-off with this garbage.