Evil really doesn’t rest, huh? West Virginia Republicans have introduced a third bill, SB 608, in the state’s legislature to remove a rape exception from the state’s total abortion ban. This comes on the heels of a wildly offensive circus in the legislature last week, when one GOP state senator withdrew his version of the bill, the Unborn Child Protection Act, following intense, well-deserved backlash—only for a GOP state House delegate to immediately reintroduce an identical bill (HB 2712) 24 hours later, with the slightly more graphic name, the Unborn Child Protection From Dismemberment Act. Now, another state senator has followed suit, introducing the same bill this week.
Under West Virginia’s abortion ban, adult victims can access abortion up to eight weeks into their pregnancy (before many people know they’re pregnant) if they report their rape to law enforcement, and the same applies to underage victims for up to 14 weeks. They’re past doubling down and, as of this week, they’re tripling down on trying to force child rape victims to give birth.
State Sen. Patricia Rucker (R) introduced SB 608 on Wednesday. Rucker hasn’t shared public statements on her motivations for doing so, nor did she immediately respond to a request for comment from Jezebel. Earlier this month, Rucker also introduced a bill to criminalize health care workers who prescribe medication abortion via telehealth, which is highly safe— and Rucker’s comments on that bill were disturbing. She pushed absurd disinformation claiming that “chemicals” from medication abortions have made the water supply “impure… which means that even things like birth control are in our water.” I hope it goes without saying that this is nonsense, but I’ll say it anyway: This is nonsense.
On Monday, GOP state Del. Elias Coop-Gonzalez issued a lengthy statement expressing his support for HB 2712. He extensively cited the Bible and bemoans how fetuses and embryos conceived from rape “are not responsible for the sins of their fathers.” They aren’t responsible for anything, really, because they aren’t alive. “Removing the rape and incest exceptions in West Virginia’s abortion law is a moral decision rooted in justice, mercy, and compassion for the most vulnerable among us,” Coop-Gonzalez continued. “The most vulnerable among us,” to him, are literal embryos—not child rape victims.
“I understand that many will push back,” he wrote, and, yes. They will. Because this is fucking vile! “I am prepared to face the pressure and threats that may come from those who would seek to compromise the rights of pre-born children. But I will not back down. I will not allow political or social pressures to sway my commitment to protecting human life at all stages of development. The right to life is non-negotiable, and I will continue to fight for the most vulnerable among us.”
Last week, state Sen. Majority Whip Jay Taylor (R) withdrew his version of the bill, citing threats to his safety. I wrote this at the time and I’ll say it again: People should be afraid to wield their power to harm child rape victims. (Or attack anyone’s bodily autonomy, for that matter.)
Del. Lisa White (R) introduced her version of the bill to remove the rape exception one day after Taylor withdrew his. “I think what people are focusing on is that I don’t care about women or little kids or anything like that. That’s the furthest thing from the truth for me,” White told West Virginia Watch last week. “Because this baby was conceived under horrible, horrific circumstances, it’s still a life to me.” She added, “I just want to stress that I’m not a horrible person.” I disagree.
Emily Womeldorffof, director of policy and campaign for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, recently raised that this flurry of bills to end West Virginia’s rape exception is “a clear indication that cruelty is not only the point of these continued attacks on abortion care, but the priority.” She added, “Why are we doing this? It is virtually impossible for anybody to get this care in this state.” House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, a Democrat, told West Virginia Watch after White introduced her bill, “On the heels of a legislator rescinding a piece of legislation just like that, because the public spoke up on that … it just says that you are tone deaf and you’re not listening to the public, the constituents of West Virginia.” He added that it’s “actually disturbing that we are going to traumatize women with the mere fact of they don’t have a choice on their body.”
Rape exceptions to abortion bans are also highly ineffective. Victims often don’t know about them or how to access them; many don’t feel safe reporting their rapes to law enforcement, as these exceptions often require. And doctors and advocates say abortion providers in abortion-banned states are often too afraid to provide abortion care no matter someone’s circumstances, as they face the threat of prison under some of these vague laws.
I’m old enough to remember when Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment arguing against rape exceptions was a scandal. Now, it’s practically the standard.
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