Turning Away Rape Victims

Gov. George Deukmejian professes to be a public servant who is tough on crime. Yet his recent veto of a bill providing money for medical examinations of rape victims neither serves the public nor helps fight crime. His action could well lead to more women and children being turned away from hospital emergency rooms and evidence against rapists going uncollected.

Last year the state Office of Criminal Justice Planning directed hospitals to conduct more thorough rape examinations and reports to improve the chances of winning convictions in sexual-abuse cases. The new rules were much needed, but the state didn’t accompany them with more money to pay for the lengthier procedures. In Los Angeles, neither the city nor the county were paying enough for the exams to cover the old costs let alone the higher new exam costs, which run around $400.

As a result, some hospitals, already facing crises in paying emergency-room costs, turned away some rape victims. The hospitals said they’d treat injuries but not conduct a complete exam. That meant that police or sheriff’s deputies had to shop around for a hospital that would provide complete care. Victims need immediate attention, not prolonged inattention, and the situation at the time simply was unacceptable.

The city and county both increased their payments to try to ensure that victims would receive prompt and effective treatment. But they didn’t feel they could or should pay the entire bill because it was the state that had ordered the tougher exams. They were right. Sen. David Roberti (D-Los Angeles), who had urged the local governments to act and had pledged to try to help on the state level, fulfilled his part of the deal by sponsoring SB 2205 to provide $3 million. The Legislature passed the measure and then the governor scuttled the whole effort with his veto.

That veto was couched in language about local financial responsibility, and it demonstrated the governor’s indifference to both the needs of women and of the law. As a result, women who have been victims of rape may again become victims of an insensitive system as well.