A couple of weeks ago South Dakota State Senator Bill Napoli described the type of rape victim who might be eligible for an abortion under South Dakota's new law:
A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life.
This is the true face of the anti-choice movement. Examine it carefully. What this man tells us is who, in his opinion, is a "real" rape victim. Are you a nonreligious virgin who was saving your virginity for someone you truly love? Too bad. Rape just doesn't affect you unless you're trying to be holy. What if you are a religious married woman? Nope, you don't qualify (I guess Mr. Napoli considers rape just an unauthorized version of a woman's "wifely duty"). And if you're not brutalized, raped, and sodomized 'as bad as you can make it', you obviously didn't put up much of a fight.
This statement reveals the inherent misogyny of the Christian Right's agenda, which has nothing to do with saving innocent lives and everything to do with subjugating and punishing women. It should be included in any mailing from NOW, Planned Parenthood, or NARAL. It should be posted in blogads and carried in the wallets of anyone who is a woman or loves one. They've gotten their judges now, and they're beginning to let their true colors show. Let's make sure everybody sees them.