Redefining Rape--A list of resources related to the #DearJohn campaign

Here's the basics: certain members of congress are trying to pass a bill that will redefine rape, ostensibly to prevent taxpayers from funding "unnecessary" abortions. They want to allow public funds only in case of forced rape, and exclude womyn, transmen and intersexed individuals who have been drugged, or coerced, or are underage, or are mentally incapacitated, or cannot, in whatever way, prove that they were violently beaten as they were sexually assaulted.

Sady Doyle of Tiger Beatdown and #MooreandMe fame has begun another Twitter campaign to draw attention to this sick state of affairs. People are posting a lot of useful links, and I wanted to gather them together. So this post will probably get longer as I find more links. Feel free to suggest links in the comments. Or if there's another site keeping track of the links, post that.

I recommend starting at Tiger Beatdown's explanation of the twitter campaign:  #DearJohn: For When Boehner Decides Your Rape Just Wasn’t Enough.

Sady has posted an update on how things are going on the campaign.  
Sady's latest update. 
Sady's latest update. 

Here's the text of the actual bill. Here's the text of the new bill.

UDPATE:  The GOP is taking "forcible rape" out of the bill. But the fight isn't over. This bill will still affect insurance premiums and taxes, and prevent women from receiving abortions. 

UPDATE:  HR3 has been amended again. It will now allow hospitals to refuse to give abortions even when the life of the mother is at stake.

How to take action:

• How to take action in the Twitter campaign.
• How to find your representative
• How to find out if your representative co-sponsored the bill. 
• Here's a list of progressives who are more likely to vote against the bill.  
• Email the head smelly cheese himself, John Boehner.  
• The Democrats who support HR3 and how to contact them. 
• Sign the petition to repeal the Hyde Amendment. 
• Here's a list of the bill's co-sponsors who are on twitter.  
• If you want to add silent visibility to your repertoire, you can join the silver ribbon campaign.  
• Send a letter to Nancy Pelosi, urging her to take action against  HR3.
• There's a Facebook page now. 
• Sign the petition to stop HR3.
• Shakesville has some anti-HR3 stickers you can add to your blog/site. 
• There's another petition at MoveOn.org. 
• Ms. has a petition, now, as well.  
• Are you new to twitter? Deanna Zandt explains how to join and use #DearJohn. And Sady has posted resources for the digital activist. 
• NARAL has a form letter, urging your rep to stop Stupak on Steroids.  
• Fund Abortion Now has a form letter up to send to your representative.  
• Here's a form to email John Boehner. 
• There's a form letter up for Rep. Cory Gardner of Colorado who is co-sponsoring the bill. 
• Sady has her own petition up at Tiger Beatdown to reach the Ways and Means Committee, whose members will be the first to evaluate this bill.  
• Planned Parenthood has a form letter that goes to your representative.  
• Jewish Women International has a form letter that goes to your representative.  
• The DCCC wants to pin this bill on Republicans. Let them know we're holding the Dems accountable for supporting it.  
• If you're in the Chicago area, join the Walk for Choice. 
• RH Reality Check has a list of the co-sponsors for the new "let the mother die" bill. 
• Credo Action has a petition to stop the bill as it currently stands.

When I call/write to my rep, what do I say?

• Michael David Harper's thoughtful instructions on how to contact your representative. Sady's got a script for calling the democrats who support HR3. 
• Rabbleprochoice has posted another letter you can use. 
• Andrea Grimes has posted another letter you can use.
• Katie Stack has posted another letter (inspired by Andrea Grimes) that you can use. 
• The American Humanist Association has a form letter to send to your representative.  I've also posted it below. 
• Katie Breslin's letter to Nancy Pelosi. 
• Dominic Haman's letter to Nancy Pelosi. 
• Brigid at O, Pioneers! has posted a letter to her congresswoman. She also has a link to instructions on writing business letters. 

I like writing to members of congress, but I'm looking for someone to give my money to:

Where to Donate (at your own risk):

• Fund Abortion Now will be happy to pass your money along to women in need. They also have a list of other ways to take action regarding abortion.
• Planned Parenthood will also take your money and your time if you'd like to volunteer. 
• The National Abortion Federation is working to keep abortion safe, legal, and accessible. 
• The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) will use your money to help male and female victims (though there is some question as to whether they support trans* victims).  
• The DC Abortion Fund is a non-profit that will help women in the DC area with abortions.  
• Donate to Boehner's America (set up by Emily's List) to help elect women to office who will fight for women's rights. 

News Sources:

• Nick Baumann at Mother Jones covers the story pretty thoroughly.
• Nathan Diebenow at The Raw Story quotes Baumann and adds that most of the Republican base is against the bill. 
• Big Think has a succinct summary of the situation. 
• Evan McMorris-Santoro at Talking Points Memo mentions how the bill will affect insurance coverage of abortions.  
• Rep James Lankford makes a boneheaded and easily refuted speech in favor of the bill, as reported by Town Hall.  
• The New York Times Opinion Page calls this what it is: a highly intrusive Federal Bill. Seriously, how did the Republicans get a reputation for wanting less government? 
• How bad is this bill? Fox News won't even report on it.  
• Media Matters for America reports that the WSJ supports the bill and discusses why they are so, so wrong. 
• The Atlantic Wire is under the erroneous impression that only liberals are outraged by HR3. Prepare to rage at James Joyner's spewage.
• Mike Vilensky at New York magazine reports that the bill's sponsors plan for "forcible rape" to be defined on an as-needed basis.
• Michelle Goldberg at The Daily Beast discusses the message this bill sends to women regardless of whether it passes. 
• Yahoo! News reports on Dan Lipinski insisting that HR3 does not redefine rape. 
• Asher Smith at HuffPo reports on the bill and mentions the Clothesline Project.  
• Gawker on how the Republicans have wasted no time engaging in assholery.  
• TPM: Is the right-wing crowd embarrassed by HR 3? Or are they hoping we just won't notice it? They've been avoiding the whole topic. 
• Good news Florida! You have a representative you can still respect. Debbie Wasserman Schultz calls HR3 a violent act against women. Courtesy of The Raw Story.  
• Jonathan Capehart at the Washington Post wonders what "forcible" rape means.  
• San Fransisco Chronicle makes no bones about the repulsiveness of this bill.  
• The Washington Post dutifully reports both sides of the issue. TW for rage inducing comment from pro-birther who thinks girls seeking abortions after statutory rape don't deserve help.  
• #DearJohn gets a shout-out at The Media Consortium. 
• Lori Adelman at The Grio pinpoints the real motivation for HR3: a petty desire to curry favor with the far-right wingnut base. 
• HR3 is just the tip of the iceberg. AlterNet lists nine more new laws in the GOP's war on women. 
• Abigail Barefoot at Iowa State Daily thinks pro- and anti- choicers should both be against HR3 because redefining rape has implications beyond abortion.  
• Emily Mills at Isthmus: The Daily Page shares some statistics on women experiencing lag time before they can get abortions.  
• Politico reports on GOP dropping rape redefinition. They're going back to the original language in the Hyde Amendment. Yay . . . sob. TPM has a similar report. As does HuffPo. And Mother Jones.
• Timesuion.com calls out Tea Party on hypocrisy. 
• TPM points out that with the new bill, hospitals won't even have to transfer women to another facility to receive life-saving abortions.  
• Watch Sady discuss HR3 on GritTV.
• Renee Loth at boston.com sums up both the old and new problems with the bill.
  

Blog Commentaries:

• Yes Means Yes has a good analysis of what the bill would mean on a legal level.
• Jennifer Dalven at the ACLU's Blog of Rights considers how then bill impacts women's rights.
• Melissa McEwan at Shakesville (and if you aren't already reading her, what are you doing?) talks about the effect on the rape culture.  
• Lidiya at something gives a very impassioned response to John Boehner and anyone who supports the bill.
• Only Anarchists are Pretty tackles the question of why the world is so invested in devaluing women.
• Dennis G at Balloon Juice tackles the hypocrisy of the forced birth movement.  
• Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon (again, this should not be new to you, people) explains the inherent misogyny behind the bill.  
• Sady on why the term "forcibly raped" is functionally useless.  
• More from Amanda Marcotte on how the bill's effect is mainly symbolic but is still a gaping black hole of suck. 
• Sady on the two issues with the bill (rape and abortion) and why #DearJohn is focusing on the rape part.  
• Daily Kos on how HR3 will extend the Hyde Amendment, and is an example of blatant classism.
• A Hart Research poll finds that approximately three quarters of US Americans are in favor of basic reproductive rights. 
• Roofer on Fire offers some thoughts on the connection between anti-choicers and the religious patriarchy movement. 
• Brigid at O, Pioneers! ponders how the bill effects ALL womyn and discusses the effectiveness of a twitter campaign.  
• Jezebel has a brief but impassioned call to participate in the #DearJohn campaign.  
• 1000 Girlfriends examines whether "forcible rape" is an oxymoron. 
• The Apathy and the Apoplexy has an infographic depicting who exactly is making these decisions in behalf of those of us who have uteri.  
• Liza at A Little Bit of What has written a letter to her representative and posted it.  
• Ouyang Dan at Random Babble talks about the difficulties impossibilities faced by women in the military who need abortions.  
• Dana Hunter at En Tequila Es Verdad pours out the outrage and highlights one of the hidden dangers of the bill: suicide.  
• Think Boehner's and Smith's priorities are out of whack? So does Sin City Siren.  
• Conservative Feminist Meme breaks down the problems with HR3 in easily digestible form.  
• Amanda Marcotte debates the anti-choice position and talks about why it's important to direct our attention to democrats in preventing HR3. 
• Remember #mooreandme? Bryce at Where is Your Line? reminisces about the effectiveness of the twitter campaign and applies it to #dearjohn.
• Jessica Wakeman at The Frisky attempts to explain why 173 representatives would choose to co-sponsor this bill even though it's probably doomed.  
• Jill at Feministe explains the bill.  
• Hugo Schwyzer discusses the regressive nature of the bill.  
• Feministing on what you can do to stop HR3. 
• Hilary Nachem has written a stirring open letter to the GOP at Emily's List.  
• Borderless Thinking has another wonderful thought experiment, comparing HR3's legislation of rape to robbery.  
• MenstrualPoetry.com lays out what you need to know about HR3 and tells you how to make your voice heard. 
• TW for graphic description of rape: Michelle tells her story of a brutal rape that would not be counted by the GOP. 
• Sady's got a piece up at Salon.  
• RMuse at PoliticusUSA has a great explanation of how HR3 will affect people's ability to pay for abortions even without federal funds.  
• NARAL: What happens when pro-choice allies get voted out and we have a majority anti-choice congress? House committee schedules hearing on HR3.
• Mislabeled reminds us that one of our weapons in this fight is word of mouth.
• Amy Sullivan at Time.com shreds the myth of false rape claims for abortion funds. 
• More from Random Babble on how HR3 will affect women in the military.  
• Queen Emily at Questioning Transphobia explains that HR3 affects more people than just women. 
• Blue Hampshire is holding their representatives responsible. Don't miss scrolling down to Hannah's comment.
• TW for Newscoma's list of heartbreaking rape stories of women who would receive no help under HR3. 
• Third Wave Foundation has posted a call to action against HR3.  
• Amanda Hess at TBD on how HR3 would screw over DC area women worse than any other district. 
• Jamil Smith at The Maddow Blog comments on the bill.
• Champagne Candy makes a case for why the fight against HR3 should be focused on as more of a class issue than a feminist issue. 
• ADI at Women's Glib tells you how you can be involved in activism.
• Abigail Collazo at Fem2.0 considers why rape is such a difficult term to define in the first place.  
• Lucky_duck_hula has written a very personal letter to John Boehner. TW for rape story.  
• Digby at Hullabaloo on why HR3 is a red herring, and we should put our attention on nixing the Hyde Amendment. 
• Thomas at Yes Means Yes! speaks to Boehner in his own language: how HR3 hurts small business owners.  
• Dr. Kathleen Young explains why this issue should be important to all of us.  
• Addicting Info examines the GOP's track record regarding their treatment of women.
• Sanity watchers gives a shout-out to Rep. Jan Schakowsky for opposing HR3.
• Leah Anthony at HuffPo says that regulations are necessary to aid safe abortions, and as long as abortion is a legal procedure, they should not be used as a political tool.
• Jonathan Capehart condemns the dodginess of HR3's creators with their lack of definitions. 
• Lola at Lost Together calls this a civil rights issue and an Orwellian attempt to make some lives more equal than others.  
• Emma at Views Across the Pond reports on the HR3 situation.  
• Check out The Daily Show segment where Jon Stewart makes fun of the GOP for trying to redefine rape.TW for making light of rape, but to make a point.
• Jezebel mentions how post-rape-redefinition HR3 will still have a hugely negative effect on insurance and tax deductions--making abortions nigh impossible.  
• Jeanette Friedman's piece includes the story of her rape, some insights into how Judaism views abortion, and a sad, but unsurprising statistic on the number of rapes in the US. 
• Popvox has a poll to see how many people support or oppose HR3.  
• Shakesville calls on us to keep fighting HR3. 
• Hello Ladies takes a look at statistics on pregnancy-related deaths, and wonders why the GOP doesn't seem to care about those lives. 
• Sandy Hingston at The Philly Post on why women should speak out about abortions. 
• Debcoop at Open Left explains why changing only the rape exception is not a win. We've got to repeal Hyde.  
• Sady explains the culture of reproductive violence that we live in.  
• Feministe: Now the woman can die with the fetus. Because pro-life! 
• Ms. Reports on dropping "forcible" rape.  
• Peter Daou contrasts the progress in the middle east with regression in the US.
• LeftAction calls out Rep Pitts on attempts to redefine "pro-life". 
• Ophelia at Halcyonsdays explains why the constitution protects women, Scalia's opinions notwithstanding. 
• Echidne of the Snakes tackles the lie that reproductive choices harm women. 
• ShoutOut! JMU has a brief summary of the bill as it stands.
• HuffPo: Senator Richard Blumenthal will fight for us! Listen to him say all the things you want to hear.
• If Jen Sorensen's comic about the bill doesn't make you laugh, the butt scratch joke surely will.

Related Articles:

• Newsweek reports that teenage girls are particularly vulnerable to reproductive coercion.
• The Center for Reproductive Rights has a short video explaining how the Hyde Amendment has impacted abortion funding.
• The Guttmacher Institute analyzes Hyde's effectiveness (or lack thereof). 
• Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money explains why the Hyde Amendment is unconstitutional. 
• My letter to a candidate on why reproductive rights ought to be a protected freedom.  
• To illustrate the wrongness of HR3: under the new bill this 13-year old would be denied abortion coverage. 
• In Predator Theory, Jill at Feministe discusses statistics on the kinds of rape that are most prevalent (hint: stranger jumps out of the bushes is not the winner).  
• Marie Anelle at Pursuit of Harpyness on why men don't get a say in choosing abortion.  
• Amanda Litman at Ms. finds that abortion does not cause mental health problems. You'll never guess what does . . . childbirth! Oh, you did guess.  
• More from Yes Means Yes. Who commits rape?
• Some statistics from The Guttmacher Institute on abortion. Who has them, circumstances, providers, laws, etc.
• A moving story of a woman who needed help paying for an abortion and received it from the George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund.  
• The GOP already has a poor track record of dealing with rape [TW for graphic description of rape]. 
• The Family Violence Prevention Fund explains how partner violence relates to reproductive coercion. 
• Want to understand how abortion funds work? Fund Abortion Now lays it down for you. They also list some ways to find money for an abortion if you need it. 
• Ms. Foundation for Women on the consequences of less funding for abortions.
• NARAL presents Boehner's anti-womyn voting record. 
• Dammit Janet! Ponders whether US nuttiness re: abortion will infect Canada.  
• The aptly named Reproductive Health Reality Check reports that, contrary to right-wing wishful thinking, abortions and demand for abortions does not decrease with lack of access to funding.  
• A well-written story laying bare the stupidity of blaming rape victims that will make you lolsob. 
• Jill Richardson at AlterNet: Why women who pick and process your food face daily threat of rape. 
• HuffPo: Is it hypocritical for John Boehner to expect public funds or insurance to support his LEGAL bad habit, but not pay for LEGAL abortions? 
• Stephanie Poggi at Center for American Progress on how the rape exception has traditionally not been of much help to poor womyn in the first place. 
• Want to hear people's stories of rape? Go to We're Telling.  
• Newsbusters is pretty sure the biased liberal media is unreasonable in suggesting that the GOP is attempting to redefine rape. 
• You know that link above, about how women in the military have trouble getting abortions? Well the fact that 1/3 of them are getting raped is just the shit icing on that crap cake.  
• HuffPo: Which increases mental health risks: abortion or childbirth? 
• Find out which senators have a track record of supporting rape culture. 
• John Boehner Lies When He Cries. Tumblr page turning a critical eye on the Speaker.   
• Marissa at This is Hysteria! has an article directed at liberals: Why "she just doesn't want to be pregnant" is sufficient reason for an abortion. 
•  Julie Rovner at NPR talks about how difficult it is for women to get out of carrying nonviable pregnancies to term.   
• Fat and Not Afraid has a very personal piece on why motherhood should always be a choice.  
• One survivor is working through her feelings about being raped at A rape survivor's blog.  
• It's Always Cloudy in Cleveland: Ohio is creating a whole 'nother set of difficulties for women, making it practically impossible to receive an abortion.  
• Yifat Susskind at myMadre talks about some of the children who have survived rape. TW for obvious reasons.
• New England Journal of Medicine publishes official study that abortion does not increase mental health risk.  
• I wonder when the "right-to-lifers" are going to get around to combating the infant mortality rate. 
• Think republicans have given up on redefining rape? Georgia Rep Bobby Franklin is no quitter.  
• Not to be outdone by Georgia, Tennessee is working on legislation that may end up banning abortion altogether. 
• Mother Jones reports: Do abortions create a nuisance? No, but the protesters sure do! And this nuisance is very effective at preventing practitioners from setting up shop.

Not sure what to say to your representative? Try this sample letter from the AHA:

Last week Congressman Chris Smith (R – N.J.) introduced the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3), a bill which would severely limit abortion access to those relying solely on government healthcare.  Currently, federal law restrictions on government funded abortions include exemptions for rape, incest, and instances in which the mother’s life is in danger. H.R. 3 seeks to restrict its rape exemption to “forcible rape” only. 

This vague language not only disregards instances of statutory rape and rape involving drugs, alcohol, and hindered mental capacity, but calls into question the definition of “forcible rape.” Forcible rape, which isn’t defined in the federal criminal code, nor by the bill’s authors, is also undefined by many states, leaving the question of what “forcible rape” is, and what circumstances, if any, qualify. 

If enacted, H.R. 3 would also financially target private insurance companies offering abortion coverage, and introduce new taxes for individuals and businesses that purchase insurance policies offering coverage as well.    

These restrictions would leave tens of thousands of women across the United States unable to access the assistance they require. Please oppose H.R. 3.