# New Mexico bill would make it a felony for rape victims to abort
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [January 26, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464 "2013-01-26T19:53:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/1 "2013-01-26T19:53:44Z")
Because that would be [“tampering with evidence.”](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/new-mexico-abortion-bill_n_2541894.html)
> [@](#):
>
> A Republican lawmaker in New Mexico introduced a bill on Wednesday that would legally require victims of rape to carry their pregnancies to term in order to use the fetus as evidence for a sexual assault trial.
>
> House Bill 206, introduced by state Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R), would charge a rape victim who ended her pregnancy with a third-degree felony for “tampering with evidence.”
>
> “Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime," the bill says.
>
> Third-degree felonies in New Mexico carry a sentence of up to three years in prison.
You can’t make this shit up.
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### Author:  [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/2 "2013-01-26T19:58:25Z")
She’s claiming the law is being ‘misrepresented’. I dunno. I guess I can see how she’s saying it’s only applying to those trying to force an abortion on someone. But it kinda can also read as applying to those who are voluntarily trying to get an abortion after rape/incest. In this case, I think it’s just bad wording. Though, I’m not familiar with the woman and her record, so I can’t say if her ‘bad wording’ was intentional or not.
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### Author:  [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/3 "2013-01-26T20:25:48Z")
Just based on the quote in the OP, it certainly does sound like its being misrepresented, at least if “intent to destroy evidence” is a required component. I can see this applying to:
A) female teachers who rape their students, or
B) fathers who rape their daughters.
In the first case, though, intent would be hard to prove; she could always just claim that she didn’t want the baby for some other reason. In the second case, I’m not sure why you couldn’t just charge the father with rape. Was there some high profile case where someone coerced his victim into getting an abortion and then used a lack of evidence to beat a rape charge?
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### Author:  [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/4 "2013-01-26T20:42:19Z")
That is fucking retarded. Abortions should never be illegal, especially if it is caused by sex against her will.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/5 "2013-01-26T20:42:31Z")
An aborted fetus, if preserved, is just as good as a full-term baby for DNA-evidence purposes.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/6 "2013-01-26T20:53:31Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#):
>
> She’s claiming the law is being ‘misrepresented’. I dunno. I guess I can see how she’s saying it’s only applying to those trying to force an abortion on someone. But it kinda can also read as applying to those who are voluntarily trying to get an abortion after rape/incest. In this case, I think it’s just bad wording. Though, I’m not familiar with the woman and her record, so I can’t say if her ‘bad wording’ was intentional or not.
Well, [let’s see:](http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/nm-bill-would-prevent-abortions-after-rape-as-evidence-tampering/2013/01/25/16280a9e-6719-11e2-889b-f23c246aa446_story.html)
> [@](#):
>
> Critics pounced on House Bill 206, introduced Wednesday (Jan. 23) by Republican state Rep. Cathrynn N. Brown, saying victims of sexual assault could be charged with a felony if they sought an abortion after rape or incest. But Brown said Thursday that the legislation was aimed at attackers, not victims.
>
> “House Bill 206 was never intended to punish or criminalize rape victims,” Brown said in a statement. “Its intent is solely to deter rape and cases of incest. The rapist — not the victim — would be charged with tampering of evidence.”
However:
> [@](#):
>
> Here’s what H.B. 206 says:
>
> A. Tampering with evidence consists of destroying, changing, hiding, placing or fabricating any physical evidence with intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of any person or to throw suspicion of the commission of a crime upon another.
>
> B. Tampering with evidence shall include **procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion,** of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime.
>
> As a third-degree felony, the crime could carry a sentence of up to three years in prison.
That wording is broad enough to cover a man who bullies a woman into getting an abortion, **and** a woman who does it on her own initiative, **and** the doctor who performs the procedure in either case. The only loophole is the requirement of “intent to destroy evidence” – which, however, well could apply to the woman in some circumstances, e.g., she’s getting an abortion because she wants no one to know she got pregnant – not at all uncommon, is that, even with rape/incest victims?
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/7 "2013-01-26T20:59:34Z")
Does anyone believe for a second that their motivation is concern for the rape victim?
There are people who see an issue as so evil that they’ll take any tactic to oppose it. In this case it’s rape, in other cases it’s gun control or gay marriage or interracial dating at the local roller rink.
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### Author:  [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/8 "2013-01-26T21:11:25Z")
It’s a stupid law, horribly drafted and rather obviously motivated by opposition to abortion rather than any attempt to address a legitimate concern of government.
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### Author:  [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/9 "2013-01-26T22:13:25Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> An aborted fetus, if preserved, is just as good as a full-term baby for DNA-evidence purposes.
And artfully displayed as a centrepiece, lends an air of elegance and sophistication to any dinner party.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/10 "2013-01-26T22:25:21Z")
This bill is absurd. Women can’t get pregnant if they are legitimately raped.
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/11 "2013-01-27T00:38:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> This bill is absurd. Women can’t get pregnant if they are legitimately raped.
Show’s over, folks. TriPolar just won the thread.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/12 "2013-01-27T02:45:55Z")
> [@digs](#):
>
> There are people who see an issue as so evil that they’ll take any tactic to oppose it. In this case it’s rape . . .
In this case it’s abortion.
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### Author:  [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/13 "2013-01-27T18:47:33Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#):
>
> She’s claiming the law is being ‘misrepresented’. I dunno. I guess I can see how she’s saying it’s only applying to those trying to force an abortion on someone. But it kinda can also read as applying to those who are voluntarily trying to get an abortion after rape/incest. In this case, I think it’s just bad wording. Though, I’m not familiar with the woman and her record, so I can’t say if her ‘bad wording’ was intentional or not.
Kind of like overturning the first amendment n the grounds that it may contradict with the fifth.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/14 "2013-01-28T00:30:32Z")
I just now (Jan. 27) saw [this (incoherently written) article](http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-law-send-rape-victims-jail-aborting-evidence-164136732.html) on Yahoo! news, apparently from a few days ago.
Never mind that the article itself is incomprehensible (don’t waste any electrons clicking on it) (or maybe my browser just garbled it?) – Of interest is this user comment:
> [@Darrin in Yahoo news user comments](#):
>
> I present to you the GOP scale of ‘how raped were you?’
>
> -Emergency Rape:
> “It was really an issue about a Catholic Church being forced to offer those pills if the person came in in an emergency rape.” (Linda McMahon)
> -Legitimate rape:
> “If its a legitimate rape…” (Todd Akin)
> -Honest Rape:
> “If its an honest rape, the individual should go immediately to the emergency room” (Ron Paul)
> -Forcible Rape:
> (legislation passed by congress to deny federal funds to abortion with the exception of a ‘forcible rape’)
> -Easy Rape:
> “Some girls, they rape so easy.” (Roger Rivard)
> -Enjoyable Rape:
> “If its inevitable, why not just sit back and enjoy it?” (Clayton Williams).
> -Gift from God Rape:
> “Accept what [gift] God is giving you.” (Rick Santorum)
>
> …I don’t get how women can get behind this.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/15 "2013-01-28T15:27:19Z")
Whenever the issue of abortion after rape comes up, I remember the lesbian I knew who had to face the decision of a pregnancy-by-rape. She decided to have the baby and raise it with her partner.
I told her to ask some anti-abortion types what they thought she should do?
Their responses to a person were “Have the child and give it to a _real_ family.”
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### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/16 "2013-01-28T16:00:29Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> Because that would be [“tampering with evidence.”](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/new-mexico-abortion-bill_n_2541894.html)
>
> You can’t make this shit up.
How freaking bogus, just save the damned conceptus after it is extracted, the whole thing is a DNA sample…
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### Author:  [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/17 "2013-01-28T17:13:36Z")
But it’s not really about that. Much like the trans vaginal ultra sound legislation. They cannot make abortion illegal so instead they create laws that make it difficult, punitive, or confusing.
It’s pretty shameful, but thus far seems to be a tactic that’s working for the Right. I believe you’ll see much more of the same, in future for that very reason.
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### Author:  [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/18 "2013-01-28T18:22:06Z")
> [@elbows](#):
>
> I believe you’ll see much more of the same, in future for that very reason.
You mean politicians will do whatever they think that will get them re-relected? Fucking shocking! :eek:
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/19 "2013-01-28T19:41:34Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#):
>
> You mean politicians will do whatever they think that will get them re-relected? Fucking shocking! :eek:
[Well, about that . . .](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=679824)
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### Author:  [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464/20 "2013-01-28T22:56:34Z")
Senegoid, thanks for sharing that rape level comment. It inspired me to put it into an official infographic.
[ ](https://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/drewtwo99/rape_levels_zps073bc67c.png)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-mexico-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-for-rape-victims-to-abort/648464.md?page=2)