Rape Victims

DenverPost reported Imagine two rape victims taken to the same hospital emergency room. Imagine them put in adjoining examination rooms. Let's say they have identical injuries. Presume everything about them is the same except for where they are in their menstrual cycles. Do they deserve access to the same medical treatment?

At most Catholic hospitals in Colorado, they can't get it. The protocol of six Catholic hospitals run by Centura calls for rape victims to undergo an ovulation test. If they have not ovulated, said Centura corporate spokeswoman Dana Berry, doctors tell the victims about emergency contraception and write prescriptions for it if the patient asks. If, however, the urine test suggests that a rape victim has ovulated, Berry continued, doctors at Centura's Catholic hospitals are not to mention emergency contraception. That means the victim can end up pregnant by her rapist.

This is wrong. I am opposed to abortion on demand, and particularly abortion as a means of contraceptive, but I make an exception for rape and incest, as well as the life of the mother.

A rape victim should not be pressured to use emergency contraception, but they are entitled to make the decision themselves.