When Gov. Sarah Palin was mayor of her hometown of Wasilla, the town forced sexual assault victims to foot the bill for their own rape kits, the Anchorage Daily Newsreported.
Palin was in office for four year of the practice until it drew the ire of state lawmakers, who passed a bill to end it in 2000.
Former Democratic Rep. Eric Croft sponsored the bill and said he was disappointed that asking the Wasilla police department to stop didn't work. He added that it is unlikely Palin wasn't aware of the policy.
Former Gov. Tony Knowles said Wasilla was the city which sparked the complaints that led to the bill, McClatchyreported.
"There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla," Knowles said, answering a reporter's question.
Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, denied that the Alaskan governor ever supported the policy.
She said Palin "does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test." To suggest otherwise, she said, is a "misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice."
The Anchorage Daily News quoted Wasilla police chief Charlie Fannon as objecting to the legislation which overturned his department policy of making the rape victims pay for their own examinations.
The Wasilla Police Department estimated that the cost of paying for the rape kits itself came to between $5,000 and $14,000 a year, Associated Pressreported.
"In the past we've charged the cost of exams to the victims' insurance company when possible," Fannon told the newspaper. "I just don't want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer."
The kits include swabs, containers and medical supplies and are used to collect evidence from sexual assault victims after they are attacked, the Associated Pressreported.
During her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Palin criticized Sen. Barack Obama's history as a community organizer.
"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities."
As The Chicago Tribune's political blog The Swamp put it:
"Is it fair to assume those responsibilities included setting policy for the town police department, particularly when it acted in a manner she disagreed with?"
Media outlets have not yet reported on this issue though Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky briefly explained Palin's connection to the policy on MSNBC Thursday.
When Gov. Sarah Palin was mayor of her hometown of Wasilla, the town forced sexual assault victims to foot the bill for their own rape kits, the Anchorage Daily News 