Representative Cathrynn Brown, (R-NM) has recently leaped into the headlines with her appalling piece-of-crap "Tampering with Evidence" bill.
This is SO WRONG on SO MANY levels. The bill (in its original form) states, in part:
AN ACT
RELATING TO CRIMINAL LAW; SPECIFYING PROCURING OF AN ABORTION
AS TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE IN CASES OF CRIMINAL SEXUAL
PENETRATION OR INCEST.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 30-22-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1963,
Chapter 303, Section 22-5, as amended) is amended to read:
"30-22-5. TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE.--
A. ...
B. Tampering with evidence shall include procuring
or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another
to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of
criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to
destroy evidence of the crime.
So, let's see: Cathrynn Brown wants any woman who procures an abortion for a pregnancy that is the result of rape or incest to be PROSECUTED for a FELONY? Is she completely batshit crazy? Is she too damn stupid to realize that DNA can be obtained from the semen of the impregnator, or from the fetal tissue after an abortion? Or are there more sinister forces at work? Speculation below the ginger curlicue.
My first thought, of course, was to check and see if New Mexico just happened to have private prisons. Indeed they do. Four out of ten prisons are private. I wondered about this because of Grizzard's most excellent diary. I didn't find (yet) any connections between Brown and the private prisons.
My second thought was that she was an ALEC puppet. Preliminary research doesn't indicate that she is, although of course many sleazy politicians are attempting to hide their associations with ALEC.
But an admin at FLAW (Fight Laws Against Women) turned up something quite interesting: AUL (Americans United for Life-Blech) is very, very disappointed with New Mexico. NM just doesn't punish its females ENOUGH for non-procreative sex. AUL has many helpful suggestions , among them this one:
Defending Life 2012
283
COERCIVE ABUSE AGAINST MOTHERS PREVENTION ACT
HOUSE/SENATE BILL No. __
By Representatives/Senators ______
Section 1. Title.
This Act shall be known as the “Coercive Abuse Against Mothers Prevention Act.”
Section 2. Legislative Findings and Purposes.
(a) The [Legislature] of the [Insert name of State] finds that:
....
(b) The [Legislature] seeks to make it illegal to coerce or otherwise force a woman or minor
into aborting her unborn child and intends to empower all mothers in the State of [Insert
name of State] to exercise their freedom of conscience in choosing life for their pre-born children
free of violent and abusive coercion.
But Brown wasn't content with merely "protecting women and girls," as she said in her tweet:
Cathrynn Brown @CathrynnBrown
This is the bill that I will introduce that protects women and girls from incest and other sex (more.. https://chumly.com/... )
(The link goes to the REVISED bill) Oh, no. She wanted them to produce the fetus, oops, baby, AFTER its birth as "evidence" of the crime. She must think we are REALLY stupid.
But then she found out that we are not, in fact, as stupid as she thought. After a HUGE backlash (Both her Capitol and office phones are now disconnected. What a coward.) she hastily revised her bill to "prohibit prosecution of the mother."
HOUSE BILL
51ST LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2013
INTRODUCED BY
AN ACT
RELATING TO CRIMINAL LAW; SPECIFYING THAT A PERSON WHO COMMITS
CRIMINAL SEXUAL PENETRATION OR INCEST AND WHO PROCURES AN
ABORTION OF A FETUS RESULTING FROM THE CRIME WITH THE INTENT TO
DESTROY EVIDENCE OF THE CRIME IS GUILTY OF TAMPERING WITH
EVIDENCE; PROHIBITING PROSECUTION OF THE MOTHER OF THE FETUS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 30-22-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1963,
Chapter 303, Section 22-5, as amended) is amended to read:
"30-22-5. TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE.--
A. Tampering with evidence consists of destroying,
changing, hiding, placing or fabricating any physical evidence
with intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or
conviction of any person or to throw suspicion of the
commission of a crime upon another.
B. Tampering with evidence shall include a person
committing criminal sexual penetration or incest procuring or
facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to
obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of the
person's act of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the
intent to destroy evidence of the crime. In no circumstance
shall the mother of the fetus be charged under this subsection.
Umm...not sure how a male rapist or incestuous impregnator can personally "procure" an abortion. Guess she just scribbled the last sentence as fast as she could, without re-reading the first one. Let's hope the good people of New Mexico throw her out on her ass for trying this, and give AUL a good kick, too.
3:59 PM PT: "Cathrynn Brown Wants to Abort Mission" http://www.salon.com/...
Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 9:56 AM PT: WHAT the F*CK? UPDATE: http://www.nmdemocrats.org/...
Please sign petition to get this awful woman to resign: http://signon.org/...
