January 25, 2013

For Immediate Release

Contact: Matt Ross, (505) 263-4879

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Today, after a national uproar over her attempt to criminalize rape victims who choose not to carry their rapist's baby, Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R - Carlsbad) announced that she was amending her legislation to specifically exempt the mothers of fetuses from being prosecuted. 
 
According to news reports, Rep. Brown is adding the language "In no circumstance shall the mother of the fetus be charged under this subsection" to HB 206.

The problem? She is not removing the onerous language that caused these problems to begin with. Not only does her bill now contain two completely contradictory clauses, it also leaves the door open for Brown and the rest of the fringe wing of the Republican Party who are determined to use criminal statutes to dictate a woman's private health choices.

By leaving the language in - when removing it would have solved this particular problem just as easily - Brown and her co-sponsors may have revealed what their original intent was all along: arresting and charging doctors and nurses who "facilitate" abortions with a felony. 

"Either Cathrynn Brown thinks we can't read or she's trying to pull another fast one," said Scott Forrester, DPNM Executive Director. "After getting busted on the national stage for a bill that would criminalize rape victims, Brown walked it back about as fast as she could. But her "fix" is nothing of the kind. The bill still makes it a crime to "facilitate" an abortion for a woman who wants one, bottom line. That means doctors, nurses, or anyone else who works at a health care clinic where this is one of the services provided would still be guilty of a felony.

"That's a huge burden," Forrester said, "and if a woman is in this circumstance, another huge burden is the last thing she needs.

"At some point, you keep expecting the Republican Party to wake up and stop this ridiculous war on women and their rights. Today is clearly still not that day."