"Life Begins at Rape"-First Hand Account Of One Of Palin's Sexual Assault Victims

[kpete]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/17/175430/636/888/601186

I suppose that when most of us who are fortunate not to have been the victim of sexual assault hear the word "rape kit", we tend to think of it specifically in terms of forensic analysis and examination--DNA collection, trauma, that whole sort of thing.

But rape kits also contain...emergency contraception.

To quote from an Alaska blogger who has provided a firsthand account of the aftermath of a sexual assault in Wasilla:

I sat with a rape victim during the "harvesting of evidence". Mascara smeared eyes stared blankly out from a cave of shame. "We've got swimmers," announced the forensic tech in the lab next door. My friend didn't look surprised. In her 60's, she was still asked if she felt the need for emergency contraception. Surviving the process would have only been compounded and made worse with an itemized bill; victimized twice courtesy of Sarah Palin and the city of Wasilla.

.................

Our dirty secret had to do with a woman's right to be safe from rapists. This right to choose was not only threatened, but abolished with Sarah Palin's archaic policy as Mayor of Wasilla. The rape kit included emergency contraception. To be sure, emergency contraception is not, nor does it cause an abortion. In fact, ec prevents pregnancy and therefore reduces abortions.

Under Palin's Administration, "Life Begins at Rape" for women unable to pay for their forensic evidence gathering. Justice is served to women who can afford it and denied for those who can't. I live in Alaska-the wealthiest of the 50 states! Forcing rape victims to pay for their own forensic rape kits is something one would expect to find in a fundamentalist country overseas. I have outrage fatigue. I can't decide which facet of this policy is more upsetting. Is it the denial of justice for the poor? Is it the punishment of women who had been raped? Is it the political policies of a woman so entrenched in the "Pro-Life" movement she would deny justice to a victim? This is not a "Pro-Life" policy. This is a "Pro-Rapist" policy, and forced pregnancy policy.

It should be noted Joe Biden introduced legislation to fund rape kits to women in America. John McCain voted against it.

The rape kits that Sarah Palin had a direct role in forcing women to pay for contained emergency contraception.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/9/16/74332/5282


UPDATE

Moore cites an amazing piece of information.
Stop rape by banning the sale of a doll?

Under the Palin Administration, a law was passed that specifically deals with rapists. I am not making this up. It is now illegal for Alaskans to buy or sell the "Rapist No. 1" doll. Oh, you haven't heard of it? It's an "action figure" from Quentin Tarantino's film "Grindhouse." Yes, really. So now if you're raped, you can take comfort in knowing Alaska outlawed an action figure.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/9/16/74332/5282

[Crunchy Frog]

1. That would make a good bumper sticker.

[Bread and Circus]

2. Maybe I'm slow on the take but I finally realize why she wanted to make rape victims pay

I now realize it was a way to discourage use of emergency contraception.

[yardwork]

6. I think it's all part of her personal world view. She has no empathy.

She's a cold, calculating person motivated entirely by greed for power and money. She buys into the authoritarian dominionist model because it provides her with a way to have power over others. She likes the idea of taking rights away from women who were raped. She probably blames them in her mind. It gives her emotional power over them.

Palin is a sick puppy.

[Triana]

9. A human with no empathy or conscience is a narcissist at best, and a psychopath at worst...

...Palin is the latter, I believe.

See the DSM IV for more info.

[Cass]

3. Bonded $15 million on a sports park but won't spend a dime on rape kits.

Fiscally conservative for things that might actually help people in need (like rape kits for victims), but flush with cash for developers building sports parks.

:puke:

[CampDem]

4. Palin is plagued by several things

Her fundie beliefs interfere with her ability to make sound policy and her embarrassment at governing a state with such horrendous statistics. She, like most Alaskan politicians, tries to artificially deflate the rape statistics so that the rest of the country won't realize what is going on here. They actively create policy to make it less likely that rapes will be reported to keep numbers down. They don't want people to know that native women here are raped overwhelmingly by whites. The conquering of this state and her native peoples happened very recently.

The culture here reeks of machismo and wild wild west exploitation.

They are still raping and pillaging and shooting their guns in the streets here!

If only one good thing comes from Palin's ascendancy let it be that a spotlight has been placed on an inhuman culture of rape that has been allowed to fester and remain for so long.

[Whisp]

5. that piece of Palin shit disgusts me.

just have to say it out loud once in a while.

[musette_sf]

7. K&R

after all, rapists have parental rights too :sarcasm:

[central scrutinizer]

8. Republican platform = Rapist's bill of rights

Every rapist has the unconditional right to choose the mother of his child.

[Matariki]

10. I wish the terminology would get an overhaul. "rape kit"? Ugly & insensitive words. n/t