John Koster Rape Thing Comment: Rape and Abortion in Washington and Idaho

I don’t know if you’ve met Washington Republican Congressional candidate John Koster and his take on “the rape thing”:

"On the rape thing, it's like, how does putting more violence onto a woman's body and taking the life of an innocent child that's a consequence of this crime — how does that make it better? You know what I mean?"

Abortion will be an issue this election season in Idaho. Last week, Democratic State House and Senate candidates from the Boise area were targeted by Idaho Chooses Life with unsubstantiated claims on a political mailer that they "support abortion on demand" and are "pro-abortion liberals threatening preborn children with increased abortion rates."

When Republican Governor Butch Otter signed theirs into law in April 2011, it became only the third state in the nation to pass such a law. In March of this year, the Idaho Senate passed an ultrasound law; ultrasounds would be mandatory, but women would have the option to look at and listen to it. But in a surprise move, Republican Representative Tom Loertscher refused to schedule a committee hearing, stalling the bill. All bets had been on its passing handily.

Editor's Note: With 3 days left until the presidential election, PolicyMic's Audrey Farber will be posting a daily update on the state of abortion rights in the U.S., covering legislative challenges to Roe v. Wade in all 50 states. So far, we've gotten updates on:

Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana ,Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana, Alabama,Ohio, Florida, Georgia, D.C., South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts & Rhode Island, Maine & New Hampshire. Check back in every day to keep track!