Proposed legislation in New Mexico would imprison rape victims if they get an abortion

From the “we can’t make this shit up” files comes a new scary piece of proposed legislation from New Mexico State Rep. Cathrynn Brown. If passed, HB 206, would force women who were enduring rape trials to carry their pregnancies to term. The justification? An abortion would be “tampering with evidence.”

As Think Progress notes, reporting a rape is hard enough, let alone actually getting to the point where you go to trail–as though that process isn’t trying enough–the trial itself is often a grueling experience. This merely adds insult to injury, an unfortunate marriage of two conservative views on women’s bodies and sexuality a) they deserve to be raped and b) it’s a woman’s obligation to give birth no matter what the circumstances. Also, it’s hypocritical–make up your mind, is a fetus a person or not?!

In addition to burdening victims of sexual assault, Brown’s bill also reveals some hypocrisy in the anti-abortion community. While anti-choice advocates maintain that a fetus should be afforded the full rights of personhood, charging abortion as “tampering with evidence” effectively turns the fetus into an object. This isn’t the first time so-called pro-life supporters have dropped the fetal personhood crusade when it was convenient — last year, a Catholic hospital in Colorado reversed its stance on fetal personhood in a malpractice suit, arguing in court that the term “person” should only apply to individuals who have already been born.

Are the GOP not learning anything? They need to just stop talking about and legislating rape. End of story.