Missouri GOP Calls Rape Pregnancies ‘Silver Lining’ From God, Bill May Ban Birth Control
If some Missouri Republicans have their way, abortion would be made illegal under any circumstances, including in the case of rape victims. In fact, Rep. Tila Hubrecht says rape victims should see their unwanted pregnancy by their rapist as a “silver lining” and a gift from God, according to Riverfront Times.
“When God gives life he does so because there’s a reason, no matter what. Sometimes bad things happen, horrible things, but sometimes God can give us a silver lining through the birth of a child.”
Apparently, Hubrecht and several other male colleagues feel that being forced to live with a daily reminder of your rape is a much better alternative than having the choice of choosing abortion, which is currently legal. The emphasis is on choice in this case, because when Hubrecht called a news conference to clarify her statements after the inevitable backlash, she called on Angela Grogg, board member of Hope After Rape Conception, who forced her 14-year-old daughter to carry her rape pregnancy to term. Grogg then painted a false picture that current legislation forces women who have been raped to have an abortion, in a convoluted and factually-inaccurate defense of her idol, Hubrecht.
Male colleague Rep. Mike Moon not only supports the bill, but he sponsored it, displaying his legal expertise in saying the Supreme Court of the United States “got it wrong” on Roe v. Wade, which was the landmark case legalizing abortion and trying to draw a parallel to the ruling in 1857 that said blacks would never be citizens of the United States in the Dred Scott case. Since linking abortion to decades of slavery, torture and murder of African-Americans wasn’t offensive enough to those supporting choice and the current laws, Moon then drew a parallel to the genocide committed by Adolph Hitler and called on anti-abortion activists who want to legislate decisions for everyone based on their personal religious beliefs.
“The silence of those who want to protect the unborn is similar to the silence of Germans who stood by and allowed Jewish people to be slaughtered by the Nazis.”
“I’m glad the bill came up, but this is actually the third year that I’ve attempted something like that, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to have some input. I’m looking forward to seeing this on the ballot this year.”
Democrat Rep. Lauren Arthur lashed back at the measure and its supporters.
“Do you believe that it’s just or compassionate to force a woman who’s been raped to have the child of the man who raped her?”
If you believe Hubrecht, it’s not only “just” and “compassionate,” but downright awesome.
However, according to Kansas City, NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Executive Director Alison Dreith doesn’t exactly see it that way.
“Missouri women and families deserve leaders who fight to solve real problems, not political gamesmanship and offensive comparisons to slavery and the Holocaust.”
Even as Republican supporters of the bill tried to say it wouldn’t override federally protected rights to birth control and abortion, Rep. Jay Barnes, male Republican, hailed it as a great day in their movement to prevent women from exercising their legal rights to make their own choices.
“What this does is put Missouri in a position to be the most pro-life state in the country, as allowed by the federal constitution.”
What Barnes and his fellow Republicans don’t seem to understand is that this has been tried before unsuccessfully, such as in Oklahoma. In 2012, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against legislation granting “personhood” to human embryos, as it would essentially place an unconstitutional and illegal ban on abortion.
[Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]
