Pennsylvania Bill Would Reduce Benefits For Women Who Can't Prove They Were *****
Pennsylvania Bill Would Reduce Welfare Benefits For Women Who Cannot Prove They Were *****
A
Pennsylvania House bill seeks to limit the amount of TANF assistance that low-income women receive based on the amount of ******** they give birth to while covered under the program.
Despite the fact that low-income women who give birth to ******** would logically need increased assistance to care for their larger ******, Pennsylvania lawmakers — State Reps. RoseMarie Swanger (R), Tom Caltagirone (D), Mark Gillen (R), Keith Gillespie (R), Adam Harris (R), and Mike Tobash (R) — don’t want their state’s welfare program to provide additional benefits for that newborn. If a woman gives birth to a ***** who was conceived from ****, she may seek an exception to this rule so that her welfare benefits aren’t slashed, but only if she can provide proof that she reported her sexual assault and her ******’s identity to the police:
In determining the amount of assistance payments to a recipient ****** of benefits under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Program, the department shall revise the schedule of benefits to be paid to the recipient ****** by eliminating the increment in benefits under the program for which that ****** would otherwise be eligible as a result of the birth of a ***** conceived during the period in which the ****** is eligible for benefits under the TANF Program. [...]
Elimination of benefits under subsection shall not apply to any ***** conceived as a result of **** or ****** if the department: receives a non-notarized, signed statement from the pregnant woman stating that she was a victim of **** or ******, as the case may be, and that she reported the crime, including the identity of the offender, if known, to a *************** agency having the requisite jurisdiction or, in the case of ****** where a pregnant ***** is the victim, to the county ***** protective service agency and stating the name of the *************** agency or ***** protective service agency to which the report was made and the date such report was made.
The language of the bill goes on to note that a sexual assault victim applying for an exemption will be required to sign a statement affirming she understands that “false reports to *************** authorities are punishable by law,” and stipulates that Pennsylvania will report any “evidence of false statements or fraud” to the correct department, all the way up to the Attorney General’s office.
Aside from punishing women who have ******** — particularly low-income women who may not have reliable access to affordable contraception — the proposed bill perpetrates a dangerous attitude toward survivors of sexual assault. ******* women to prove the legitimacy of their sexual assault, and warning them about the serious consequences of “****** ****” to cheat the system, puts forth the misguided assumption that victims of sexual ******** are not to be believed. Furthermore, countless women choose not to report their rapists to the police because they fear repercussions from their *******, who could threaten their lives. An estimated 54 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to the authorities.
This is not the first type of legislation of its kind. Last month, New Mexico proposed a bill that would have required women seeking childcare assistance to prove they were “forcibly *****,” although Gov. Susana Martinez (R) has requested to remove that language.
You have the right to pursue happiness. You do not have the right to have sex with anyone you wish at any time.
