New Mexico Bill Would Prosecute Rape Victims Who Get Abortions for 'Tampering With Evidence'

By Katie J.M. Baker  |  January 24, 2013 | 5:50pm
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New Mexico Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R) introduced a bizarre bill on Wednesday that would force rape survivors to carry their pregnancies to term so that the fetus could serve as trial evidence. Jeez, even a legitimately-raped lady can’t get a break these days!

From House Bill 206: “Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime.”

Rape survivors who get abortions because they don’t want to be the victim of horrible circumstance — sorry, we mean sneaky criminals who want to hide evidence of wrongdoing — would be charged with a third degree felony, which carries a sentence of up to three years in prison in New Mexico. That seems fair.

Pat Davis of progressive nonprofit ProgressNow New Mexico told Huffington Post that the bill was “blatantly unconstitutional” because it “turns victims of rape and incest into felons and forces them to become incubators of evidence for the state.”

“Blatantly unconstitutional” is definitely one of the more polite ways you could refer to this piece of fuckery.

[Huffington Post]

Image via albund/Shutterstock.

 
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