Have you ever noticed that American political action committees for ridiculous anti-woman and anti-gay causes espoused by the right wing almost always include Family or Concerned or Parents, and pretty much have to contain the word America, and somehow the fact that they’re FOR America — as opposed to those people who are against what they stand for, who must de facto also be against America? “What, you don’t like Concerned Kitten Exploders For America? Why do you hate America!?”
The hypocrisy of the chosen title has never before been so blatantly obvious as it is here, though. These women are so terribly, terribly upset that Senator Shaheen has proposed an amendment to the defense budget bill that proposes paying for medically indicated treatments that a woman in the service might have to obtain after being raped. Services like aborting the rapist’s fetus. Services that they presently have to pay for themselves. So they wrote a letter to every senator, demanding they fight against this amendment because paying for those services are like offering women abortions “as a cure-all”. As though going after the perpetrators is somehow undermined by having compassion on the victim and not forcing her to cough up money to terminate her unwanted pregnancy.
I transcribe this PDF:
Dear Senator,
On behalf of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee’s (CWALAC) 500,000 members nationwide, I am writing to you to ask you to oppose Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s Amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill that forces taxpayers to foot the bill for abortions in the case of rape or incest. Instead of focusing on our national security at a time of war, this amendment simply serves as a political distraction.
Women already have access to abortions at a military facility in instances of rape or incest. However, American taxpayers have not been forced to pay for these abortions.
Pregnancies under such difficult circumstances need an extra measure of compassion and support. We need to remember that these women are victims of a heinous crime. But our priorities should be placed on preventing these crimes, punishing the perpetrators, and not covering up a crime by merely dealing with the physical consequences. Women deserve better than simply being given abortion as a “cure-all.”
CWALAC opposes the Shaheen amendment and will score against this amendment in our annual scorecard.
Sincerely,
Penny Nance
Chief Executive Officer and President
Concerned Women for America
I won’t even get into the unmitigated gall of the italicized section. Trying to come up with something coherent as a rebuttal, all I can manage is “I HATE YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR.”
And “merely dealing with the physical consequences”? What, like forcing victims to cough up some dough or else endure nine months of carrying a rapist’s seed? Where were these concerned women when Boehner’s House did absolutely nothing to create jobs but instead rammed through as many anti-woman and anti-gay legislations as he could manage?
The only “political distraction” here is the one they are throwing up with this BS. This group is evil.
There’s a related issue. Many anti-abortionists give grudging permission for abortions when pregnancy is due to rape or incest. So they are against abortions when the sex was consensual and the woman presumably enjoyed it but for abortions when the woman did not enjoy sex. Pregnancy is punishment for enjoying sex.
I doubt the bill would have passed anyway. If there’s one thing the military hates is contraceptives and birth control. Even men have to jump through hoops to get ourselves fixed (my GySgt spent close to 6 months talking to the chaplain, explaining he had no more plans to have kids, shit they do not need to know).
Women pretty much get kicked to the curb. Never mind that birth control is a very important part of physical and mental well being, there’s absolutely no way we can allow enlisted women access to something that is entirely a plus for them.
Breast implants, though. That we’ll totally cover.
Wow. Rape victims who abort the fetus are covering up crimes. Perhaps we should feel relieved that they aren’t proposing those women be charged as accessories.
But our priorities should be placed on preventing these crimes, punishing the perpetrators, and not covering up a crime by merely dealing with the physical consequences.
Brilliant, no? Just think of all the money we could save if taxpayers are no longer required to foot the bill for the medical care of servicemembers who are injured in assaults, MVAs, arsons.
I wonder if the Concerned Women For America Group is at the core against women serving in the military?
And Viagra. Gotta make sure the old white guys can still get an erection. Oh, wait – that’s what the breast implants are for!
What the hell is a chaplain doing getting involved in a medical decision? This is between the soldier and their doctor.
Good job I worked for the UK army and not the US. Otherwise some chaplains would leave my consulting room with no further need for a vasectomy.
Well at least they didn’t suggest marrying the rapist
Did you ever notice how many minority women belong to Concerned Women for America?