A new bill introduced by a New Mexico lawmaker deems it illegal for rape victims to terminate pregnancies after they are raped, because it will tamper with evidence for a sexual assault trial.
Rep. Cathrynn Brown is requiring rape victims to carry their pregnancies full term; if not, the rape victim would be charged with a third-degree felony for “tampering with evidence.”
“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,” the bill says.
In New Mexico, third-degree felonies carry a sentence of up to three years in prison.
In a statement on Thursday, Brown said that she introduced the bill with the goal of punishing the person who commits incest or rape.
“New Mexico needs to strengthen its laws to deter sex offenders,” said Brown. “By adding this law in New Mexico, we can help to protect women across our state.”
But not everyone is buying it.
Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico, a progressive nonprofit opposing the bill, called it “blatantly unconstitutional” on Thursday.
“The bill turns victims of rape and incest into felons and forces them to become incubators of evidence for the state,” he said. “According to Republican philosophy, victims who are ‘legitimately raped’ will now have to carry the fetus to term in order to prove their case.“
DETAILS: Mmm… Justin Bieber’s Mom Produces An Anti-Abortion Film
Um…we’re pretty sure there are other ethical ways to gather evidence from rape victims instead of forcing them to be walking, talking crime scenes. Is New Mexico going too far?
SOURCE: Huffington Post
