In 2009 Roman Polanski requested that he be allowed back into the United States. He is banned from entering our country because he drugged a 13 year old girl and had sex with her. This opened a storm of protest, rightfully so. Conservative Republicans were the ones who screamed for his head the loudest. What he did was repugnant and he shouldn't be allowed back in our country.
Now the same Conservatives are trying to push a bill through Congress, HR3, that would redefine what Roman Polanski did so that it wouldn't be considered rape.
For the past decade Republicans have been pushing “Health Saving Accounts” so people can save up money to self-insure themselves for health emergencies. The idea behind the accounts is that people can make their own medical decisions. Now the Republicans are pushing a new bill that says Health Savings Accounts can't be used for abortions except in the case of “forcible rape”.
This means that if the 13 year old that that Roman Polanski got his hands on was impregnated by him her parents wouldn't be allowed to use their Health Savings Account to pay for the abortion as Polanski drugged her instead of holding her down.
So much is wrong with this bill I don't know where to start.
First there is the total hypocrisy, besides calling for Roman Polanski's arrest (something I agree with), and then trying to redefine what he did as “not rape”, it goes against their number one argument against the Health Care Act. The Republicans are saying that the government can't force individuals how to spend their money. But in saying that someone can't use the money they put away in a Health Savings Account for a legitimate medical procedure they are forcing the people who use them how to spend their money.
Second there is the “General Welfare” clause of the Constitution, what happened to Polanski's 13 year old victim was horrible and no doubt caused emotional damage. If she had gotten pregnant from it she would face even more emotional trauma, adding another layer of emotional burden on to her does not promote the “General Welfare” in anyway, it makes it harder for the victim to try and get their life back to normal after an assault. This bill is having the government assault the victim for a third time.
Finally it is just sick that a bunch of rich, old men that belong to a group that is known for its sex scandals should be able to decide what a woman considers rape.
So to the supporters of HR 3, I say, “Shut-up Stupid, if you can't see how forcing a 13 year old girl to go through another layer of assault is wrong, then you aren't worthy to be called a human being.”
By Darrell B. Nelson author of Alien Thoughts
