House Trounces Emergency Contraception for Rape Survivors

October 1, 2005

Although several amendments to the Violence Against Women Act were accepted by the House Rules Committee last week, and were added to the bill on the House floor, two important amendments by Representative Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, were turned down.

The Department of Justice has issued the first-ever National Protocol for treating sexual assault victims, which serves as a guideline for emergency medical personnel across the country. Yet it inexplicably contains no mention that medical personnel should offer emergency contraceptives to rape survivors. One of Maloney's amendments would have ensured that the option of using emergency contraceptives is added to the protocol (text of amendment). Maloney said that no victim of rape should have to become pregnant by her rapist: "Rape victims should be treated with nothing but compassion, and they do not deserve to have information on any medical option withheld from them. For the Department of Justice to withhold a medical option that would prevent pregnancy-by-rape was an outrage. Now Congress has followed suit."

Maloney's other amendment would have required Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to explain to Congress why the option of emergency contraceptives, also called the "morning-after pill" were left out of the guidelines (text of amendment).

Both of these amendments, found in H.R. 1214, would have been vital improvements for helping survivors of sexual violence. Rep. Maloney, a champion of women's rights, has vowed to continue pursuing these provisions until the Justice Department relents and provides justice to survivors of sexual assault.

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