A shocking child abuse case underscores how restrictive abortion laws have become in Republican states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
Hours after the high court’s ruling, Ohio banned all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a time when many people still don’t know they’re pregnant.
The new law meant that a 10-year-old who had been raped and was six weeks and three days pregnant could not have an abortion in the state, according to report from Indianapolis Star.
Instead, the girl had to travel to neighboring Indiana to get an abortion, one of many who are now forced to cross state lines to get abortion services. And even that may soon cease to be an option for pregnant people in nearby states like Kentucky and Ohio with restrictive abortion laws.
In late July, the Indiana Legislature will hold a special session to consider additional abortion rules.
“It’s hard to imagine that in just a few short weeks we won’t be able to provide that care,” Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis OB/GYN who treated the 10-year-old, told the Star.
The 10-year-old’s story has sparked outrage across the country, with abortion advocates arguing that the Republican Party cannot claim to be focused on protecting life when it forces child abuse victims to carry their pregnancies.
“GOP Platform: Government Makes Pregnancy Mandatory for 10-Year-Olds,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Saturday.
“The ruthless hypocrisy with which anti-abortion activists claim the moral high ground while forcing 10-year-olds and rape victims to become pregnant against their will is perverse and repulsive,” legal commentator Mark Joseph Stern added on Twitter.
On Sunday, Kristy Noem of South Dakota, considered a rising star in the Republican Party, defended abortion laws, including those in South Dakota, which would mean the 10-year-old Ohio girl would have to have a baby.
Ms. Noem said the girl’s “horrific” story will keep her up at night, but at the end of the day, states like South Dakota, which ban all but life-saving abortions, are doing the right thing.
“What I would say is that I don’t believe that a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy,” Ms. Noem told CNN. “There’s more we need to do to make sure we really live a life that says every life is precious, especially the lives of innocent people who have been broken like that 10-year-old girl.”
When pressed by host Dana Bash about whether forcing a child to have a child is considered a medical risk to the mother, Ms. Noem was noncommittal.
“This situation, the doctors, the family, the people closest to it are going to make the decisions for this family,” she said.
Abortion bans in some states are absolute, with no exceptions for victims of rape, incest and abuse.
But critics say it’s not just Republican extremism that the 10-year-old’s story reveals. They argue that it also underscores the urgency of using the full power of the federal government to restore access to abortion.
The Biden administration has committed to things like preserving already legal access to medication-based abortion services by mail, but has done nothing to change the new status quo.
Instead, many senior Democrats have backed away from calling on the party faithful to turn out in November because, as Mr. Biden said, “Roe is on the ballot this fall.”
Some say it’s the left-wing equivalent of Republicans calling for “thoughts and prayers” in the wake of gun violence: apparent concern but lack of action.
“The 10-year-old girl in Ohio deserves someone to fight for her,” former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner tweeted Saturday.
“10-year-old girl denied abortion services in Ohio. 10,” she continued. “So no, I don’t agree with the Democratic Party’s response at the federal level to just be ‘vote in November.’ Residents of my state can’t wait until November and 10-year-olds can’t vote.
Instead, she called on the Biden administration to give the green light to abortion clinics on federal lands and pressure opponents in the Senate to agree to her calls for a filibuster exception to pass a law codifying Roe.
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