Claim: Naming Sarah Palin as his running mate shows that McCain is sensitive to women's issues
Truth: John McCain has a record of often voting against funding to help abused women or rape victims
Truth: While Sarah Palin was Mayor of Wassila, AK, the city charged rape victims for testing that would help catch their assailants
Truth: As Governor, Sarah Palin vetoed funding for shelters for single teenage mothers

Though it would be unfair to say that John McCain does not care about women's issues, he has a record of voting against providing government funding for women's programs, as well as voting against federal requirements for equal pay, equal rights, or even guarantees of proper law enforcement for rape victims.

In 1994, Joe Biden authored the "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994." The main purpose of the bill was to provide federal funding to help local governments get more police on the streets--100,000 more nationwide. Among other things, though, this bill also mandated that any local government which received these funds must agree to cover the full cost of "rape kits" for victims. These kits allow for the collection of evidence not only to prove that the woman was sexually assaulted, but also to obtain DNA evidence which could be used to prove the identity of her assailant.

(1) IN GENERAL- A State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government, shall not be entitled to funds under this part unless the State, Indian tribal government, unit of local government, or another governmental entity incurs the full out-of-pocket cost of forensic medical exams described in subsection (b) for victims of sexual assault.

Read the entire bill - H.R.3355: Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994  

To become a law, a bill must pass both the House and Senate with identical wording. Usually, each house will pass what they think is the "best" version of a bill, and if those bills pass both houses, a compromise committee will then take the two similar bills and work out a single "compromise" version which then returns to each house for final approval. When this bill was first introduced, John McCain voted for it (thus, he could later campaign claiming he voted for it), but when it came time for final approval, McCain switched positions and voted against it. Luckily for women across the country, McCain was in the minority on that vote and the bill became law when President Clinton signed it.

The record of the final vote on that bill 

Alaska was the last state in the US to reach compliance with that law, some six years later in 2000. Notably, the entire state had already been complying with the law, except for one city--Wasilla, under Mayor Sarah Palin. After Palin took office as Mayor in 1996, she fired police chief Irl Stambaugh apparently because he angered some of her biggest campaign contributors. The man she appointed to the job--Charlie Fannon--did not believe that the city should cover the cost of providing rape kits to victims. That's right--he believed that rape victims should be charged for the service of the police. If they couldn't afford to pay, they might as well not report the crime, since they wouldn't be able to prove it in court, and Palin supported Fannon in this policy, even when then-Governor Tony Knowles urged Wasilla to comply with the federal regulations. To force Wassila into compliance, Alaska passed its own state law in 2000 that required all city governments to cover the costs.

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.
Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon does not agree with the new legislation, saying the law will require the city and communities to come up with more funds to cover the costs of the forensic exams.

Wassila Frontiersman, May 22, 2000 - Knowles signs sexual assault bill 

If on her watch Sarah Palin allowed women to be charged for rape kits, she has some serious explaining to do.

US News & World Report - Sarah Palin and the Rape Kit Question

8 years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska Legislature to pass a bill -- signed into law by Knowles -- that banned the practice statewide.
"There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla," Knowles said.

McClatchy - Critics: Under Palin, Wasilla charged rape victims for exam

Though she now expresses support for her own (currently) unwed, 17-year-old, pregnant daughter, just months ago (after daughter Bristol was already pregnant), Governor, Palin cut over $1 million in funding for an Alaska program that--among other services--provides a home for teenage mothers. It would seem that she supports her own daughter, but anyone else's daughter is on their own.

After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.
According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."

Washington Post - Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms