For
Immediate Release:
McCain-Palin Out of Touch
When it Comes to Rape Survivors
New “Heartless” Ad Highlights
Republican Ticket Dangerously Out of Touch
The ad is scheduled to air in
The TV ad also highlights Senator
McCain’s vote against the Violence Against Women
Act, a landmark bill that created new federal criminal penalties for domestic
violence, and included provisions to end the practice of charging rape
survivors for their own rape examinations by making states and cities
ineligible to receive federal grant money if they charged rape survivors. [US
Senate Roll Call Vote 295, 8/25/94]
“The McCain-Palin ticket is dangerously out
of touch when it comes to women’s rights and women’s health
care,” said Chris Taylor, Public Policy Director for Planned Parenthood
Advocates of Wisconsin (PPAWI). “On top of his 125 votes against
women’s health, John McCain’s opposition to the Violence Against Women Act is yet another example that he is out of
touch when it comes to women’s health and women’s rights.”
The New York
Times writes, “The rape-kit controversy is a troubling matter.
The insult to rape victims is
obvious. So is the sexism inherent in singling them out to foot the bill for
investigating their own case. And the main result of billing rape victims is to
protect their attackers by discouraging women from reporting sexual
assaults.” [
Various media
reports state that rape kits at the time cost between $300 and $1200, a
substantial cost to pass on to rape survivors.
According to CNN,
“Former state Rep. Eric Croft, a Democrat, sponsored a state law
requiring cities to provide the examinations free of charge to victims. He said
the only ongoing resistance he met was from Wasilla, where Palin
was mayor from 1996 to 2002. … [State Rep Croft] said victims' advocates
suggested he introduce legislation as a way to shame cities into changing their
practice, and Wasilla resisted.” [CNN,
According to the New York
Times, “[Palin’s] campaign would
not answer questions about when she learned of the policy, strongly supported
by the police chief: whether she saw it in the budget and if not, whether she
learned of it before or after the State Legislature outlawed the
practice.” [
As recently as last night, Palin continued to show how out of touch she is when it
comes to women’s health and women’s rights. In an interview with CBS
News’ Katie Couric, Palin
said she would oppose abortion even in the cases of rape and incest. [CBS
Evening News,
“In tonight’s debate,
Sarah Palin needs to answer why, as mayor of Wasilla,
the town started charging rape victims or their insurers for hospital
emergency-room rape kits and examinations,” says
According to a FOX News poll from
October 2007, the vast majority of Americans, 70 percent, support abortion in
the cases of rape and incest.
To view the new TV ad and to learn
more about how McCain-Palin are dangerously out of
touch, please visit www.ppawi.org.
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of
Paid for by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, a 501 c4
qualified nonprofit organization, Tanya Atkinson, Treasurer.
Not authorized by any
candidate or candidate's agent or committee.