Reproaction Blog — Reproaction Statement: If Scott Walker Must Be...

1.5M ratings
277k ratings

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna

Reproaction Statement: If Scott Walker Must Be Accountable for No Rape and Incest Exceptions, So Must President Obama

Today, Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) signed into law a blatantly unjust 20-week abortion ban that offers no exceptions for rape or incest. This lack of exception has been emphasized repeatedly by liberal media and mainstream reproductive rights organizations.

What has been less emphasized is that for six years President Obama has shown the same callousness toward rape and incest victims overseas. The Helms Amendment bars funding for abortion “as a means of family planning” in foreign assistance. Erroneously, Helms has been implemented as a total ban – meaning that there are no exceptions for rape, incest, and life endangerment, as is customary in most state and federal abortion bans.

For six years, President Obama has held the power to immediately issue an executive order clarifying that the United States will not use the Helms Amendment as an excuse to turn its back on survivors of rape and incest, or pregnant women who are about to die. For six years he has failed to act, even as the international human rights community and segments of the domestic reproductive rights movement have issued mounting alarm.

We must be clear: President Obama has gotten the memo that his failure to issue an executive order on Helms means that our country is in violation of the Geneva Conventions, especially as pertains to the medical treatment of victims in war zones. President Obama is well aware that his indifference has directly impacted hundreds of pregnant girls rescued from a mass kidnapping by Boko Haram. President Obama knows the harm his complicity brings; he’s just ignoring it for reasons of political expediency.

As a matter of conscience we are not able to do the same. Reproaction affirms the positive value of abortion in women’s lives, and we acknowledge the disgustingness of being forced to quibble over exceptions for rape and incest. But, here we are.

If Governor Walker is going to be called out for an abortion ban without a rape exception, President Obama must be too. No matter where they live and who holds the power, women are not able to reschedule their rapes until a later, more politically convenient time.

Reproaction is a new direct action group forming to increase access to abortion and advance reproductive justice. We look forward to working with President Obama on a fix to the Helms Amendment after we launch in August. To sign up for alerts, go to www.reproaction.org.

helms amendment rape abortion scott walker obama president obama

See more posts like this on Tumblr

#helms amendment #rape #abortion #scott walker #obama #president obama