Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Provide forensic exams for every woman in the world

For the price of the Iraq War, we could provide forensic exams for each woman in the world, something that rape victims in Wasilla had to pay for with their own money during Sarah Palin's term as mayor.

In 2000, Alaska Governor Tony Knowles signed a bill making sure that rape victims wouldn't have to pay for their own forensic exams. According to the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, this was not common practice at the time in Wasilla:
While the Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies have covered the cost of exams, which cost between $300 to $1,200 apiece, the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests.
Using the figure in the middle of the range gives a cost per forensic exam of $750.  There are 3.33 billion women on earth. At that price, all 3.33 billion women could be provided with forensic exams for $2.50 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of the Iraq War.