Fourth hearing on the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act- more supporters testify
On March 10th the House Health Committee had the 4th hearing on HB 333, the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act. We had 5 additional people come to the statehouse and testify in support of this important legislation. See excerpts from their testimony below along with links to their full testimony so you can read it for yourself. Unfortunately, anti-choice legislators continued to try to make the point that the bill is unnecessary and instead of protecting survivors of sexual assault we need to protect the medical professionals who do not want to give women emergency contraception, actually at one point Representative Wachtmann tried to make the point that women who have just been assaulted shouldn't have to make such a "critical" decision to "possibly kill their unborn child" (which he insists emergency contraception does) when they are in such a traumatized state immediately after the assault. He implied with his statement that women who have just been sexually assaulted cannot make decisions for themselves and in fact need to be protected from making the awful decision to take emergency contraception and prevent a pregnancy from occurring from the assault. Fortunately the bill's supporters who came to testify did an amazing job responding to ridiculous statements such as these, and hopefully helped at least some of the members see the critical need for this legislation. Here are some excerpts and links to their full testimony: Becky Perkins, Director, Butler County Rape Crisis Program- "I understand the committee's concerns about how this proposed bill would affect sexual assault survivors who are minors. I am the mother of a young daughter, and I fully admit that I would want to know about any treatment given to her. It is in our nature as parents to want to be fully informed and to have a say in how our children are treated, especially in the aftermath of a crime... Assuming that an adolescent survivor could get to a hospital by some other means than her parent of guardian, the very last thing we want to do is deny her time-sensitive treatment. And, unfortunately, it is sometimes the child's parent or guardian who raped her. It saddens me to think of my daughter being treated for rape without my knowledge, but it truly breaks my heart to think of her bearing her rapist's child because I was not there to consent to EC." Kimberly Kroh, Director, American Red Cross Rape Crisis Services of Stark County- "I have also seen first hand the horror of becoming pregnant following a rape. Being faced with a life changing decision whether to terminate the pregnancy or give life to that child. I have seen survivors make decisions in both ways. The emergency contraceptive, a preventative medication, will alleviate a survivor from ever having to make this decision." Shelly Pinnell, LISW- "People might want or expect a woman who has just been raped to take more action. Yet, if a victim is unable to do it, is it not incumbent upon us as a culture to provide the necessary support of the "wounded"? Until we learn how to create a world in which violence against women and girls no longer exists, let us provide the necessary support for those victims." Katie Edwards, M.S., Ohio Psychological Association- "On behalf of the Ohio Psychological Association and the approximately 650,000 rape victims living in Ohio, I urge each of you to support HB 333. Primary prevention of sexual violence and other forms of interpersonal violence should be a top priority for our state. Ohio can take pride in the recent passage of HB 19, a significant initiative in this regard. However, until interpersonal violence in eradicated in Ohio, it is essential that we have a basic standard of care in place for sexual assault survivors who seek emergency medical services." Gary Dougherty, Legislative Director, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio- "To state the obvious - no one chooses to be raped, much less where they are raped. The tragedy of the rape would only be compounded if a woman was attacked in a community with a single hospital - not uncommon in communities throughout our state - a hospital that might not provide emergency contraception to her. Geography should not play a role in the treatment that a person should expect to receive after a sexual assault."
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