How to Stop the Right’s Campaign Against Rape Victims
Wisconsin offers an inspiring example. It joined sixteen other
states and the District of Columbia in signing a “Compassionate
Care for Rape Victims” act into law in 2008. (For other states,
see here.) The law, passed with significant support from pro-
life legislators, requires that emergency rooms provide rape
victims with information about and access to emergency
contraception. The contraception, better known as “the morning
after pill,” involves administering a high dose of progestin,
the active ingredient in the birth control pill. The hormone
prevents or delays ovulation but cannot dislodge an existing
pregnancy. The treatment is relatively inexpensive, effective up
to 72 hours after intercourse, and part of the ordinary standard
of care for emergency room treatment. Yet a 2006 study indicated
that 66% of Wisconsin emergency rooms failed to mention it to
patients seeking assistance after a rape.  It took an impressive
coalition of legislators, rap