New Orleans Rep Delisha Boyd (D)
New Orleans Representative Delisha Boyd wants health insurers to provide mental health coverage for victims of rape. The legislation is personal for Boyd because her mother was raped at the age of 15. Boyd said her mother had psychological issues.
“Post-partum psychosis, and all these different things that were going on with her, and no one stepped in to ensure that this kid was basically, ok and my mother was dead before she was 30,” said Boyd.
The bill also requires coverage for at least one year of postpartum psychosis screenings for victims of rape who conceived and birth a child as a result.
Boyd said victims of rape, no matter their age, deserve mental health services and when the perpetrator is someone, they trust it’s another layer of difficulty.
“Imagine the ten-year-old that’s been violated most likely by someone she knows whether it’s a coach, parent, a cousin, or a friend of the family,” said Boyd.
Boyd said if someone had only intervened and helped her mother deal with the trauma of being raped and post-partum psychosis, she might be alive today.
“I know now at 55, I understand better today what her issues were when she had me,” said Boyd.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, one in six women and 1 in 33 men are victims, of rape or an attempted rape in their lifetime. House Bill 302 is pending to be heard in the House Insurance Committee
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