The House GOP dominated House Judiciary Committee is actually considering this bill. These are the shit-for-brains republicans that say they are for "a reduced size of government."
Dear Keith,
This morning, the House Judiciary Committee debated legislation that could force survivors of sexual violence to tell their horrifying stories to...wait for it...Internal Revenue Service agents.1
That's because the bill sponsored by extremely anti-choice Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) requires women who needed abortion care and are also survivors of sexual violence to prove to IRS auditors that the assault occurred.2 What?!
As you read this, House Judiciary Committee members are considering the legislation. If we act now and collect enough signatures to show House leadership that this is not only offensive but also a huge waste of time, we can stop the legislation in its tracks--just like a grassroots outcry stopped efforts to redefine rape in 2011.3 If we speak out loudly now, we can send a message to politicians that bills like this won't win over women voters, and we can stop this outrageous law in its tracks.
When will Tea Party conservatives get how degrading it is to force women to have ultrasounds, go through waiting periods, drive hours and hours to find reproductive care, and now describe their sexual assault to an IRS bureaucrat? In a country where 1 in 5 women have been sexually assaulted and 1 in 3 women will have an abortion, it is incredibly cruel to subject millions of women to this invasive and traumatizing line of questioning.4
In the 2012 election, Tea Party conservatives failed to gain control of the Senate due in part to their offensive and extreme comments about pregnancy resulting from rape.5 Together, thousands of us helped shine a spotlight on that, and our fellow Americans were as horrified as we were at what they saw. If we act now, we can win this new chapter in the War on Women.
Thanks for taking action,
Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Malinda, Adam, and Gabriela, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. House Republicans Kick Off 2014 With Renewed Focus On Abortion, Birth Control, The Huffington Post, January 8, 2013
2. Text of H.R. 7, Congress.gov, January 8, 2013
3. How Todd Akin And Paul Ryan Partnered To Redefine Rape, ThinkProgress.org, August 19, 2012
4. Nearly 1 in 5 Women in U.S. Survey Say They Have Been Sexually Assaulted, New York Times, December 14, 2011
Students aim to change tone of abortion debate, USA Today, October 30, 2013
5. Team Rape Lost Big Last Night, Jezebel.com, November 7, 2012
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