NO... Once more with feeling! When does “NO” not mean no?

Republican congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey obviously thinks a woman is equally responsible when she is raped, but not forcibly, by a man who doesn’t stop when she says “NO” and says she doesn’t want him to have sex with her, but doesn’t struggle out of fear of being physically hurt. 173 other Republican members of Congress agree with Smith and have lined up to support a far-reaching anti-choice bill he has introduced. His bill includes a provision that redefines rape and sets women’s rights to the years before Rowe vs. Wade.

Already federal dollars can’t be used for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is in danger. The Smith bill (H.R. 3 -- a.k.a. the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”) would narrow that use to “cases of ‘forcible’ rape but not statutory or coerced rape.” What is means is this: a woman who is drugged or given excessive amounts of alcohol, rapes of women with limited mental capacity, and many date rapes” would no longer count as rape. Apparently, for a woman to prove she has been raped, she must have bruises and/or broken bones. Lack of consent under the bill doesn’t count as rape. She can't prove she didn't want it.

Once again conservative, fundamentalist Christian members of Congress are taking aim at the poorest Americans. Federal funds for abortions, already severely restricted, would hurt lower-income women in particular. Most middle- and upper-income women have access to resources totally out of reach of women who are struggling to subsist on minimum wage incomes or on welfare.

I urge clergy and all other persons whose voices are heard and respected by congregations and other groups to step up boldly and voice concern and objection to Smith’s H.R. 3 bill. I urge voters to talk with neighbors and send letters and make phone calls to their representatives in Congress.