TN state Rep. Sheila Butt calls rape, incest 'not verifiable'

State Rep. Sheila Butt, a Republican representing Columbia, is being criticized for remarks during a House debate about adding exceptions for rape and incest victims to a bill requiring a 48-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion.

Butt opposed the amendment that would have added those exceptions, saying on Tuesday:

"This amendment appears political because we understand that in most instances this is not verifiable."

The amendment failed during a contentious debate over the waiting period measure that is now making its way to the governor's desk for his expected approval, but on Wednesday, Rep. Sherry Jones, a Nashville Democrat, rose to publicly criticize Butt's remarks from the House floor, calling them "dangerous and insulting."

"Yesterday we heard a lot of unsettling things on the floor, from bogus descriptions of women's health clinics to a member of this body actually saying that the violent crimes of rape and incest are, quote, not verifiable," Jones said.

"There are 206,000 women in Tennessee who unfortunately can attest to the fact that rape and incest are too verifiable. Those women have endured horrors that we cannot imagine, and for it to be said the violent crimes they suffered are not verifiable is to suggest that they are somehow not legitimate rapes. That's dangerous and it is insulting to say the very least."

Butt responded by suggesting she was not being quoted accurately:

"I rise to say that when we quote our colleagues on this floor, I think we respect each other enough to quote each other properly, and I did make a comment yesterday that there are times when those things are not, so let's make sure we are quoted properly on the floor," Butt said. "I appreciate that and I would do that for you."

Tuesday's abortion debate nudged two bills closer to becoming state law. The first would require women seeking an abortion to undergo a 48-hour waiting period following in-person counseling by a physician before obtaining an abortion. A second measure would require all abortion clinics performing 50 or more abortions per year to be regulated as an ambulatory surgery treatment center.

During the debate about the waiting period, Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, a Democrat from Ripley, offered an amendment that would have exempted victims of rape or incest from the waiting period.

"Women who have survived this condition have already been victimized by their attacker, and it would do much to take care of the safety, health and welfare of women in this situation," Fitzhugh said. "This amendment merely adds the provision that if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest the bill does not apply."

It was in response to those remarks that Butt said: "This amendment appears political because we understand that in most instances this is not verifiable."

Fitzhugh said he took exception to Butt's remarks.

"Ladies and gentlemen I just don't think women take something like rape or incest lightly and I can't imagine anybody, any person would take advantage of that type of situation," he said during Tuesday's debate. "Fortunately or unfortunately, it may not happen much, but it is certainly a condition that women need to be protected from and that we should not give them a more burdensome process because their pregnancy is a result of one of these two actions."

This is not the first time that Butt, who is a motivational speaker in addition to being a state lawmaker, has been criticized widely for her public remarks.

In response to a Jan. 26 open letter from the Council on American-Islamic Relations urging potential Republican presidential candidates to reject Islamophobia and reach out to American Muslim voters, Butt posted on her Facebook account:

"It is time for a Council on Christian Relations and an NAAWP in this Country."

She later deleted the post and said in response to suggestions that "NAAWP" was a racist abbreviation for the "National Association for the Advancement of White People," that she had been misinterpreted and was offended by the reaction from critics. Butt said she meant "National Association for the Advancement of Western Peoples."

"Instead of realizing my post was actually about making sure that every race, religion, gender, and culture has a seat at the table, liberal groups have once again incorrectly and falsely jumped the gun," she said in response to critics, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which urged Tennessee Republican leaders to repudiate Butt's comments at the time.

Neither Republican Gov. Bill Haslam nor the Republican leaders of the General Assembly called on Butt to apologize.

Butt has also raised eyebrows for her critical views on pre-marital sex, homosexuality, bi-racial dating and evolution in two children's books she authored, "Does God love Michael's Two Daddies?" and "Everyday Princess: Daughter of the King."

Being gay is a choice, she wrote in "Everyday Princess." Satan, a "bad sexual experience with members of the opposite sex" or a mom who didn't "encourage her son's masculinity" could lead to that choice, she wrote.

On Wednesday, Jones, the lawmaker, in her criticisms of Butt, said: "What we say in this room matters. I would ask that members, especially my fellow female members speaking about rape and incest, remember that before they make any remarks."

Reach Anita Wadhwani at 615-259-8092 or on Twitter @AnitaWadhwani. Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.