Posted on 06/25/2013 8:08:01 AM PDT by autumnraine
A Republican state representative has sparked outrage by suggesting rape kits can be used to terminate pregnancies. Jodie Laudenberg, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, made the comments during a debate about a new anti-abortion bill. Miss Laudenberg said: 'In the emergency room they have what’s called rape kits, where a woman can get cleaned out. 'The woman had five months to make that decision, at this point we are looking at a baby that is very far along in its development.' Her apparent confusion about 'rape kits' - the equipment used by medical personnel during forensic examinations to gather physical evidence following allegations of rape or sexual assault - sparked widespread ridicule on social media sites. The bill, which was passed by the House on Monday, would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and limit abortions to surgical centers. Miss Laudenberg, the bill's sponsor, made the comments in response to a proposal by another Republican member for an exemption for women who were victims of rape and incest. The bill is due to be heard by the state Senate today. Hundreds of protesters have crowded into the state capitol building over the past few days to oppose the measure. According to the National Council of State Legislatures, eight state legislatures have banned abortions after 20 weeks. Arizona did so at 18 weeks and Arkansas passed a ban after 12 weeks. Federal judges have thrown out the laws in Arizona and Iowa, and judges have blocked similar measures in the other states.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
They have the morning after pill, which can be administered to any woman who wants it, including rape victims.
It would be part of the standard items available for rape victims. Calling that a “kit” is confusing since there is something we call a “rape kit”. Of course, the idea of a ‘rape kit’ seems odd anyway — is there something special about rape that requires different forensic collection? I think the point is that they have trained the medical staff to use this so they don’t have to call in the police forensics unit?
I mean, wouldn’t a forensics unit have all the items needed to collect evidence? Why would THEY need a special kit just for rape victims?
The left is the party of ridicule and slander, so of course anything you say that isn’t spot-on will get you national scorn. They have ruined this country with their incivility.
Are you unfamiliar with how pro-life people "think?"
You seem quite eager to assume they "think" in some way that causes you discomfort.
THe primary purpose of that pill would be to prevent pregnancy, but it would have the same effect — a woman would not be pregnant after 20 weeks.
The better point was that the woman had 20 weeks to decide she was raped and had to get rid of the baby. Five months is more than enough time, so they really didn’t need a rape or incest exception.
Yes, I am uncomfortable if pro-life people think that a rape kit that swabs for DNA ‘cleans them out’ and prevents pregnancy.
Pro-life doesn’t equal anti-science.
so they really didn’t need a rape or incest exception.
Thank you. Someone finally “gets it”...
I would prefer a medical professional collecting dna from my vagina over a ‘forensics unit.’
Call me crazy.
I was thinking the same thing. What is it with Republicans,,every time they talk about rape I cringe,,because they just come across as heartless neanderthals. If this woman is confused, she needs to clarify it..but since she has not issued a statement clarifying the stupid remarks, I am inclined to think she meant it and has put herself in the company of Todd Akin. What a dumb woman!
It was clear to me that they meant “in the rape kit”, not “in the vagina”.
In other words, if the hospital were to include the morning after pill as part of their “rape kits”, then the rape kit would include the means for the woman to prevent having a child.
It might not be in the physical box supplied for forensics, it could be in the supply cabinet where those boxes are stored. Probably wouldn’t be, because the hospital has a place to store pills. But it is highly likely that it is on the CHECKLIST that the hospital has for response to a rape victim.
They probably also have RU-486 available, which is an abortion pill, and it is likely ALSO on the checklist of items to be discussed with the rape victim, depending on how long she waited before coming in for treatment.
Some people confuse “morning after pill” with “RU-486”, but I wouldn’t attribute that to ignorance so much as the normal flow of a debate/internet conversation.
Bill Clement's slip with the work back in the '80's gave us Ann Richards. UGH!!!!! Why do we keep repeating this mistake?
I totally get the rape or incest exception to the rule, if they didn’t know 20 weeks in that they were raped or it was incest, doesn’t apply.
What does that have to do with the rape kit issue?
That was Clayton Williams.
That is true, and an excellent reason to train the medical professionals, in addition to the fact that there are a lot more medical professionals for the task than there are trained forensics experts.
Now that is a post I can understand.
If there is a pill (RU-486) or something similar in the “kit” that is in the “kit” that they use for victims of rape... Ok, I get that.
SHe wasn’t talking about rape though, she certainly said nothing that falls into the “insensitive to women who were raped” category.
She mis-understood what the contents of a “rape kit” were. How is it minimizing rape to screw up the discussion of forensic tools?
The LEFT is trying to pretend this is more of the “attack on women”, when it is nothing at all like that, it was just a politician showing ignorance about what a rape kit was. It is on par with a politician claiming an island could tip over, or any of the dozens of stupid things Joe Biden says.
So, as far as you know, most, or even many, pro-life people think that?
Again, do you know any pro-life people and what they think?
Pro-life doesn’t equal anti-science
No has asserted it does, except you.
“Are you saying they shove the morning after pill into the vagina?”
The rape patient is traumatized. A morning after pill is legal. I would think the doctor would give the raped woman information on what was available to her and that pill is. The victim would make her own decision as to what she wanted to do or not do. She should be given her legal choices. If raped, I would take the pill not knowing if I was pregnant or not. I wouldn’t let rape change my body and life forever. I would put it back where it was before the rape if it had been changed and I wouldn’t know that at that time so I would take the pill.
An exception for rape victims is nothing more than Dem talking point. When they tell the story, they will leave out the fact that is was to allow late term abortion. It doesn’t make any sense. Why would a rape victim want or need to carry an unwanted child for so long? To inflict cruel punishment on the other victim, the baby?
You are right.
I wasn’t assuming all pro-life people think that way, but only a very vocal and quotable one.
If you like her representing you and your views, have it. I for one want intelligent people expressing our views to people who get bombarded with pro-abortion views and quotes all day. This kind of crap doesn’t help a dang bit.
You can hate the messenger of this woman’s statements all day long, but I want rational people representing RATIONAL POINTS AND VIEWS of myself and many others (including Freepers). However, it seems that hating on me for calling her out for her ridiculous comments and how IT DOES NOT HELP OUR CAUSE makes me fodder for Freepers.
I will go back to my Freeper hole.
You are right. I must be getting senile.
In the Politifact article about this subject, which rated her claim “pants on fire”, they provided the following expert information:
“Sometimes a pregnancy test is administered, Gipprich said, but that is solely to see if a survivor might have been pregnant before the assault. Also, he said, the pregnancy test is not part of the kit. In addition, Gipprich said, a survivor may be offered high-dose antibiotics to ward off sexually transmitted diseases as well as a “morning after” pill to prevent impregnation, though such drugs and those offers are not part of the kit, he said”
She talked about the rape kit having the equipment to do a D&C type abortion, but that would not make sense if a woman had just been raped, since there would not be a baby yet to be aborted.
If you wanted to make sure you didn’t have a baby, you’d start with a pregnancy test — because you’d want to know if you were already pregnant. You could then take the morning-after pill. You’d probably wait a week or two and get another pregnancy test, and if positive you then could use RU-486. I think you’d wait a bit longer to do an abortion procedure, but certainly never 20 weeks.
The “kit” is a forensics kit, and wouldn’t have any medications in it. The hospital might include them all though.
I also got confused because I thought they were saying she was in the House of Representatives, and this was part of the debate on the House-passed bill.
But from Politifact, it seems she is in the texas STATE legislation, which means she is just some local politician who, in the heat of an argument on the floor, said something stupid (it was part of a debate, not a prepared text — she was answering a question).
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