Jon Stewart is frequently funny. But sometimes his politics gets in the way of humor and the truth.
This segment on a bill to ban taxpayer funding of abortion is one of those times. Stewart said the “No Taxpayer-Funding for Abortions Act”
Not true, Jonny B. Stew.
This Mother Jones blog post, cited on the Daily Show as evidence, asserts that the “forcible” languages means “rapes that would no longer be covered by the exemption include rapes in which the woman was drugged,” but that’s just completely bogus. When someone is drugged, sex is obviously committed against that person’s will, i.e. forcibly. Such an assault would fall under the FBI’s definition of “forcible rape.”
And the general understanding of the compromise on exceptions to the Hyde amendment has excluded “statutory rape.” The word “forcible” would not “undo” anything in the longstanding compromise, it would simply make explicit a common interpretation. Since that word is redundant and has simply given Democrats the opportunity to smear pro-lifers and change the topic, it’s been dropped from the bill.
So, Jon Stewart, I beseech thee: More Puppet Michael Steele, less demagoguery about Republicans hating rape victims and 9/11 first responders.
