The Idiot From Carlsbad

Unbelievably stupid. A total moron, and a disgrace to the New Mexico State Legislature. The co-sponsors have even less excuse:

Republican state lawmaker Cathrynn Brown says she's reworking legislation she introduced Wednesday calling for felony charges related to abortion in cases of rape and incest. Her proposal, House Bill 206, created a firestorm of hate email and phone calls, she said.

The bill reads: "Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime."

Brown, a Carlsbad resident and a board member of the Carlsbad Right to Life organization, conceded her bill was poorly written. She said her intent was not to charge incest or rape victims with a felony if they terminate their pregnancy.

"I missed this one," she said, explaining that when she reviewed the draft of her bill, she missed the language problems that led to misinterpretation of her bill.

...Nine House Republicans, all women, signed on as co-sponsors. They are Jane Powdrell-Culbert of Corrales; Dianne Hamilton of Silver City; Anna Crook of Clovis; Sharon Clahchischilliage of Kirtland; Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo; Monica Youngblood of Albuquerque; Kelly Fajardo of Belen; and Nora Espinoza and Candy Spence Ezzell, both of Roswell.

...Even Comedy Central's "Indecision Now" website got in on it, suggesting New Mexico was trying to "out-clown" Arizona.

...The first to publicize Brown's bill was the liberal political action committee Progress Now New Mexico. "In addition to being blatantly unconstitutional, the bill turns victims of rape and incest into felons and forces them to become incubators of evidence for the state," said Pat Davis, the group's executive director.

...Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, also moved to distance herself from HB 206. Responding to a request for a comment, Martinez's spokesman, Enrique Knell, said Martinez, as a career prosecutor, always tried to be a strong voice for crime victims. "She would never support a bill that re-victimized rape survivors," Knell said.