Our Turn: Assault Victims

We want to applaud Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for taking decisive action Monday to offer better protection for victims of sexual assault.

In one of our recent "Our Turn" commentaries, we pointed out that the practice of saddling rape victims with big hospital bills was extremely unfair. Most states use their victims' compensation funds to deal with this issue. The governor's order came immediately after a hearing involving lawmakers, state health officials and the agency that oversees Louisiana's Crime Victims Reparations Fund. That meeting apparently did not produce a result that was satisfactory for the governor and his staff, and so he took executive action.

Several lawmakers have expressed their intention to find a permanent solution to this problem when the legislature convenes again next April. State Senator Karen Peterson is one of the lawmakers who has taken the lead on this. She said yesterday that she was pleased that there was finally action on this issue, and we are, too.

That's "Our Turn." Now, it's your turn. To comment on this segment or anything else, visit us on Facebook or send an email to yourturn@wafb.com.