Top-priority in this country, in John Boehner's POV, is changing the definition of rape. Not for the better, mind you, but to make sure that less women are covered for government-funded abortions that result from sexual assault. You probably read about "rape-rape" during the latest surge of the Polanski debate, but now our politicians are seriously differentiating a violent assault from date rape, statutory and coercion. The way it's been, only rape and incest are covered by the government for abortion funding. So to further whittle that down, the Repubs want to define what "kind" of rape they're willing to include in this exemption. Drugged? No. Unconscious and woke up with someone inside you that you did not consent to? Young teen molested by your stepdad? No. No.
Rape is rape. There is not "rape-ier" rape. There is no tiered system. There is abuse and hopefully there is help, but many people in government want to take away the second option.
Sady Doyle of Tiger Beatdown has started another twitter campaign, and if you smirk at that kind of idea, that's fine, but it works to get the word out (@JohnBoehner, #DearJohn). Write to your representatives about this, tweet about it, write about it, and don't let it go down silently. It isn't hard-- fill out a form, tell them what you think about what's happening. A redefinition of rape is terrible in terms of abortion coverage, but it may have far-reaching legal implications that will obviously not help survivors and victims.
Think about how fucking awful any sexual assault is, then think about being told you weren't raped enough to get government assistance. And you can't afford an abortion on your own. Or raise a child. This makes me so ashamed of our country right now.
In an ideal world, this would be one of those things that the Democrat-controlled Senate would just shoot down, but sometimes I'm not so sure. That it should even be brought up is a shameful enough thing.
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