We already knew that Jerry Kilgore was bad for women. Perhaps we just didn't realize HOW bad. Yesterday, as reported in the Washington Post:
...three sexual abuse counselors discussed the Republican's assessment that victims of rape and incest should be allowed abortions only if they report the crime within seven days."It's not only hateful and cruel, it's also impractical," said Jim McKinley-Oakes, a social worker who has counseled victims of sexual assault for more than three decades. "It's an invasion of their privacy not unlike the act of rape itself."
Joyce Allan, who said she was raped by a family member as a child, said Kilgore's insistence that victims report to authorities within a week is a "glaring sign of ignorance and arrogance."
[...]
Kathy Prudden, a counselor in Alexandria who was at the news conference, said Kilgore should give "some very careful thought to the consequences" of his position.
Let's get real here. Let's say you're a 15-year-old Virginia girl repeatedly raped by your grandfather. Now, 30 days after the last rape, you realize you're pregnant. You go to your mother and tell her what happened. At first, she doesn't believe you, but after a doctor's visit the pregnancy is confirmed. Now, of course, you all want to a) cut off grandpa's balls; and b) get an abortion immediately. But let's say Jerry Kilgore is governor (God forbid!) and "Taliban Bob" McDonnell is Attorney General. And let's say an ultra-right-wing Supreme Court (wich very well could come to pass in the next month or two) decides to overturn Roe v. Wade, sending abortion questions back to states like Virginia. Now, Jerry Kilgore says you can't have an abortion, so you've got to carry your grandfather's incest child to term.
Hateful? Yes. Cruel? Definitely. Invasion of privacy? You betcha. Ignorant and arrogant? No two ways about it. Interference with family decisions on the most personal matters? Absolutely. But that's exactly what Jerry Kilgore proposes to do, except when he's trying to weasel out of it by claiming his abortion views are all "hypothetical" anyway.
Now, what if you're a 30-year-old woman who has been raped by an abusive, violent, crazy-ass ex-boyfriend, but you're afraid to report the crime because he's threatened to kill you if you do. So, you agonize for a couple of months, then decide you simply can't live with the thought of continuing on with this pregnancy born from an act of violence. But wait, Jerry Kilgore - a right-wing white male with no clue or compassion for women -- tells you, "oh no, you can't have an abortion, it's past our state-mandated 7-day waiting period. You're shit out of luck. Have the damn baby!"
Sorry to be so blunt, but that's exactly what we're talking about here. The question for all women of Virginia is this: would you rather have Jerry Kilgore making your most personal decisions for you, or would you rather have those decisions made in consultation with your doctor, your counselor, your priest/minister/rabbi, or what?
Frankly, if you're a woman in Virginia and you vote for Jerry Kilgore, you are putting yourself and your fellow women at grave risk -- especially in light of the evolving Supreme Court situation. All I can say is this: don't do it! Instead, vote Tim Kaine on November 8 to keep abortion "safe, legal and rare."