by cici414
Mon Sep 22, 2008 at 06:31:54 AM PDT
The financial sector meltdown has dominated the news cycle the past few days, but I wanted to draw attention to the fact that on this coming Sunday and Monday (September 28th and 29th), Katie Couric, of CBS news will conduct an interview with Governor Palin.
Like Gibson's first interview, I think we, as voters, have a golden opportunity to provide input to Ms. Couric, and make it known there are significant questions Palin must answer. An issue that Palin, thus far, has not directly commented on, is the issue of Rape Kits.
Below the fold is a letter I sent to Katie Couric last night. I hope you join me in sending one of your own.
cici414's diary :: ::
Dear Ms. Couric,
I understand you will be interviewing Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin this coming week. I hope, during this interview, you will question Governor Palin about one particular issue that she has, thus far, not been questioned about. I am speaking in reference to the “Rape Kit” controversy.
To summarize briefly, Sarah Palin was the Mayor of Wasilla Alaska from 1996 through 2002. In 2000, Alaska’s Governor Tony Knowles signed legislation that prohibited victims of sexual assault from being billed for forensic testing. The sponsor of the bill, Eric Croft, said that the law was aimed, in part, at Wasilla, where Palin was Mayor at the time. Wasilla was one of a few towns in Alaska that actually billed sexual assault victims for their rape kits and the subsequent forensic testing. The Rape Kit and forensic testing can cost between $300 and $1200 dollars, and crime statistics show that Alaska is #1 in the country for forcible rape.
Wasilla’s police chief, Charlie Fannon, who was hand selected by then Mayor Palin, was disappointed when the new law was passed. He was concerned about the burden this would place on the taxpayers of Wasilla.
When I first heard about this practice- billing rape victims for the cost of a rape kit and forensic testing- it made my blood boil. How could this possibly happen?
Perhaps, if asked, Governor Palin, might say when she was Mayor, she was not aware of the practice. But as we all know, Governor Palin was “…sort of like a community organizer…” except that she had “….actual responsibilities”. I would think that one of those responsibilities was to be aware of the policies of the police department. One would also think that a significant change in the police budget, reflecting a marked decrease in forensic testing costs, would raise a red flag or two.
If Palin, was aware of the practice, perhaps she was under the false impression that a Rape Kit contained Emergency Contraception. We have learned recently that Governor Palin is against abortion, even in the case of rape or incest. Perhaps Governor Palin’s views on abortion, in the case of rape, played a role in this outrageous practice.
A “Rape Kit” is simply a set of supplies used to gather evidence from a sexual assault victim. The kit generally contains glass slides, sterile cotton swabs, collection tubes, containers, envelopes, labels, incident reports and other evidence collection supplies. My understanding is that it does not contain Emergency Contraception.
It should be noted that The American College of Emergency Physicians has documented clinical policies (standards of practice) that address Emergency Contraception (EC) for sexual assault victims. The relevant ACEP clinical policy states “A victim of sexual assault should be offered prophylaxis for pregnancy and for sexually transmitted diseases, subject to informed consent and consistent with current treatment guidelines.” A physician, or any other health care provider, would never force feed a victim of sexual assault Emergency Contraception. The victim would first be assessed to see if offering the EC was clinical indicated. For example, you would never give a two-year-old EC, nor would you give it to an eighty-year-old postmenopausal woman. Only if the patient met the clinical indications, and had no contraindications, would EC be offered…with offered being the operative word. If the rape victim was morally against Emergency Contraception, it would not be given to that patient. Only rape victims that met specific medical criteria, and fully understood the actions of EC, and agreed to it, would be provided EC.
In closing, it seems to me that this controversy has been flying “below the radar”. It has been addressed in some newspapers, and on the blogs, but as far as I know, it has not been discussed on TV. The only statement about this has come from a McCain/Palin spokesperson, Maria Comella. Ms. Comella stated that Governor Palin "does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test.” As far as I know, Governor Palin has not answered a single question about this.
I hope you will address this issue during your upcoming interview. As a woman, a mother and a Registered Nurse, I would like some answers.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
cici414
Katie Couric can be reached at:
Couricandco@cbs.com
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/22/9114/43741/909/606258
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