Senators are elected to represent the views of the people, not to make rash decisions based on personal views.
Boise Sen. Chuck Winder did just that Monday with comments he made while sponsoring Idaho’s proposed mandatory ultrasound bill, which would require all women to have an ultrasound before an abortion.
The problem with the bill is there is no exception for rape victims, incest victims or women in medical emergencies.
In his closing statements, Winder — an Idaho State senator since 2008 — responded to the opponents of the bill by saying, “I would hope that when a woman goes in to a physician with a rape issue, that physician will indeed ask her about perhaps her marriage, was this pregnancy caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by a rape.”
Winder’s statements were ignorant, and showed an abuse of power in his position.
The role of a lawmaker is to make laws. Winder is overstepping his boundaries as a representative of the state by making decisions and statements based on personal biases.
Personal views are a key reason government officials are elected into office, but Winder has continued to act based on his personal values rather than those of the population he represents.
The 2010 FBI Uniform Crime Report recorded 525 reported cases of “forcible rape” in the state of Idaho, and 84,767 nation wide. It is important to realize that “forcible rape” does not only apply to aggravated rape, but denotes anytime a person refuses sexual activity yet complies because of emotional or mental factors that make them feel forced.
Winder’s statement, though, presumes that if a pregnancy were to have occurred from a “forcible rape,” there is still some other reason the woman is pregnant.
Rape is a problem in the U.S., and although the number of forcible rapes has decreased in the last 10 years, the number is still too high. And from rape comes the possibility of pregnancies — unplanned pregnancies.
If Winder’s bill passes through the Idaho House of Representatives and is signed into law, women who seek an abortion — including those who have been raped or have a medical emergency — would be required to receive a free ultrasound from a state approved facility in order to get an abortion. Unfortunately, almost all free clinics in Idaho are “crisis pregnancy centers” that aim to change a woman’s mind about having an abortion.
Deciding how to handle an unplanned pregnancy — regardless of how it came about — should be up to the individuals involved, especially when it is a woman who has been placed into a situation she had no control over.
–MM