Indiana Rep Suggests Women Will Lie About Rape To Get Abortions, Gets Told

Let us enter Indiana into contention in the state-level sweepstakes to curtail women’s rights in the most spectacularly callous way possible. Sure, it’s no South Dakota, but does South Dakota have a Republican state rep who argued that there should be no rape or incest exception because abortion-greedy women will lie to get them?

I see you taking a second look. It’s not just that Rep. Eric Turner said earlier this week that a rape and incest exception to his new bill banning most abortions after twenty weeks would be a “giant loophole” which could mean that “someone who is desirous of an abortion could simply say that they’ve been raped or there’s incest.” (To be fair, he said “I want to be very careful, I don’t want to disparage in any way someone who’s gone through the experience of a rape, or an incest.” He just wants to disparage any lying, baby-killing bitches.) It’s also that said rape and incest exception was voted down, 54-42.

Lawmakers were apparently not swayed by the emotional testimony of Rep. Linda Lawson, a former sex crimes prosecutor who’s seen weeping in the video above at the suggestion that women are inclined to lie about rape for shits, giggles, and abortions. (Not shown in the video is the part where she undermined herself, saying, “Women don’t make this up! My goodness! This is the state of Indiana. This is not some kind of crazy third-world country. These are women who live in this state!” Maybe she needs to read up about Iman Obeidi.)

The amendment containing the rape and incest exception was voted down 54-42.

There’s more: The bill also requires medical professionals to lie and say that abortion “carries risks, including the possibility of breast cancer, according to the Indy Star.

One of the few Democrats to support the anti-abortion bill, a nurse turned state representative named Peggy Welch, tried to remove that part of the bill, pointing out that it is not “evidence-based.” Meaning that it’s made up. Unfortunately for Welch, her allies don’t really care about evidence, and she lost that fight.

Indiana GOPer: Women Might Pretend To Be Raped To Get Around Abortion Laws [TPM]
House GOP Tames Dems Efforts On Abortion Bill [IndyStar]