Cards On The Table

by digby

If more of these people would admit what they really believe we could have an honest debate in this country:

West Jordan Republican Sen. Chris Buttars scoffed at McCoy’s suggestion that the legislation might force teens to other states for abortions or into their bathrooms to attempt the procedure on themselves.

“Abortion isn’t about women’s rights. The rights they had were when they made the decision to have sex,” Buttars said. “This is the consequences. The consequence is they should have to talk to their parents.”

Too bad if her father is the one who impregnated her:

Current Utah law – which was adopted in 1974 – requires doctors to notify a girl’s parents before ending her pregnancy. HB85, sponsored by Ogden Republican Rep. Kerry Gibson and Peterson, would change state code to require doctors to get at least one parent’s permission 24 hours before the procedure. Doctors could proceed without consent in medical emergencies or to protect the health of the mother.

The bill would allow girls to ask a judge to bypass the parental consent requirement if she fears abuse or is pregnant as a result of incest. At the same time, the legislation still would require a doctor to notify a girl’s parents of the abortion, effectively nullifying the judicial bypass.

Salt Lake City Democratic Sen. Scott McCoy tried to amend the bill Monday to grant an exception to the notification requirement in “very narrow situations” where a girl’s father also is the father of her baby.

Peterson argued that parental notification “hasn’t been a problem” for 30 years. Why would notification after a judicial bypass be a problem? “What we’re trying to do is allow a parent a say in what happens in this youth’s life,” he said.

But Sen. Patrice Arent said Peterson was closing his eyes to the “real world.” The Murray Democrat said Utah lawmakers are setting up a situation where a girl who has been raped by her father would go to court to avoid telling her parents of her abortion. But the doctor still would notify one or both of those parents who could be complicit in the incest.

I find this refreshing. These Republicans admit that women give up their rights when they have sex. Good to know. And they believe a child molesting father’s parental rights are more important than the daughter he impregnated. Also good to know.

Our equally religious Muslim fundamentalist friends take this argument to its logical conclusion:

A large number of women in Afghanistan continue to be imprisoned for committing so-called “zina” crimes. A female can be detained and prosecuted for adultery, running away from home or having consensual sex outside marriage, which are all referred to as zina crimes. The major factor preventing victims of rape complaining to the authorities is the fear that instead of being treated as a victim, they themselves will be prosecuted for unlawful sexual activity.

During its recent visit, AI found that a large number of female inmates in prisons across Afghanistan are incarcerated for the crime of “running away” and for adultery, as well as for engaging in unlawful sexual activity. Amongst many judges and judicial officials, there was a prevailing lack of knowledge about the application of zina law.

In many instances, there was a lack of basic legal skills among legal professionals interviewed. In addition, in relation to many offences, sentencing is left to judges’ unfettered discretion and they often had down arbitrary sentences to women. A majority of imprisoned women have been charged or are imprisoned for transgressing social norms and mores.

Utah girls should realize how lucky they are. They are just as guilty of having sex as their muslim sisters and yet their leaders are generous and only seek to punish them with the forced childbirth of their own siblings and the offspring of their rapists. That’s because America is civilized.

One of these fine leaders puts it this way:

“There is a life inside of this life. And how that life is taken care of is very important to me,” said Sen. Darin Peterson, R-Nephi.

How the life it’s inside of is taken care of — not so much. That life apparently gave up any claim to being cared for when she allowed her father to rape her.

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