Maps For Rape Victims

After surviving the trauma and violence of being raped, victims need medical attention and emergency birth control. This would seem glaringly obvious, yet many Catholic hospitals refuse to give the so-called "morning after pill", variously known as Plan B, or simply, emergency contraception, to rape victims who wind up in their facilities after being sexually assaulted.

And true to form, Senator Joe Lieberman is siding with religion over reason, supporting the dismissive approach of these hospitals, as Shakes reported in March.

Lieberman said the Catholic hospitals shouldn't have to hand out the pills and that transportation should instead be provided, for the rape victim, to some other hospital. He said, "In Connecticut, it shouldn't take more than a short ride to get to another hospital."

Oh, sure. I mean, it would be a breeze for a physically and emotionally traumatized rape victim to hop up from the examining table and say, Okay, let me call a cab now, because I really need some emergency contraception in case the monster who did this also impregnated me. And since you guys won't give it to me, I'm outta here--Seeya!

What was Lieberman thinking? (Don't answer that one.) A woman in those circumstances is now supposed to find her way to a second hospital, a less ridiculous and dogmatic one, in order to get the medication she needs? A short ride?

Anyway, the brilliant Connecticut Bob has thought that one through and suggests Einstein Lieberman provide maps for rape victims; he offers a few, for Connecticut cities, that show unfortunate rapees how to get from birth-control-denying Catholic Hospital A to reasonable, birth-control-supplying Hospital B. Bob notes:

Well Joe, that's not very helpful. I mean, I know that you'll never need emergency contraception at two o'clock in the morning after having been brutally raped. So I guess it's easy for you to disregard any woman who is unlucky enough to have gone through that trauma.

But here's a suggestion: Why don't you provide maps for the victims, so they can walk out of the Emergency Rooms of the various Catholic hospitals around the state, hail a cab, and take that "short ride" to another hospital?

You know what, Joe?

Never mind.

I'll do it.

And knowing how difficult it is to even GET a cab at 2AM, I'll include the distance between the hospitals, in case the victims have to walk (or crawl) there.

Check out the post to see the actual maps, which one can only hope find their way to Senator Lieberman. Unfortunately, though, I suspect he only opens correspondence from far-right religious organizations.

(Hat-tip to Lisa in DC)