FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
08.14.19
Contact: Alexa Barrett, Communications Assistant
Email: alexa@equityfwd.org
Phone: (914) 602 - 3147
What Do Anti-Abortion Groups and Steve King Have In Common...?
New York, NY – Representative Steve King (IA-04) made headlines today defending the lack of rape and incest exceptions in his failed anti-abortion bill when he suggested that humanity may not exist without rape and incest. King posited the disgusting query, “What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?”
Equity Forward Director Michelle Kuppersmith said the following in response:
“Rep. King’s comments on rape and incest may seem far outside of the norm, but his views are in line with many of the leading anti-abortion groups that guide the Trump administration’s policies. The consequences of this extreme position, held by King and many anti-abortion organizations alike, are immensely dangerous to the health and well-being of women nationwide.”
In the anti-abortion movement, King’s perspective on rape and incest is not, in fact, fringe — it’s held by a number of mainstream groups that hold sway over Trump’s health department and lawmakers at all levels of government.
Among these groups are:
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Americans United For Life, the anti-abortion lobby’s legal and policy engine, which helped push anti-abortion legislation without exceptions for rape or incest in Georgia and Arizona, and whose former president, Charmaine Yoest, believes abortion should be illegal in every circumstance.
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Students for Life of America, a group focused on training young people to advocate against abortion, whichled an effort to send an open letter to the Republican National Committee Chair urging the GOP to change its platform on abortion — abandoning protections for rape and incest exemptions.
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Human Life International, an U.S.-based international anti-abortion group, which claimed that abortion in the case of incest enables further incestuous abuse, and opposes abortion even in cases where a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life.
For more information on the anti-abortion groups working to push oppressive legislation across the country, visit Pro-Lies.org.
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Equity Forward is a watchdog organization that works to ensure transparency and accountability among anti-reproductive health groups and individuals.