A shocking case of child abuse is underscoring how restrictive abortion laws have become in Republican states since the disappearance of Roe v Wade at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
Hours after the high court decision, Ohio banned any abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, a point at which many do not yet know they are pregnant.
The new law meant a 10-year-old boy who had been raped and was six weeks and three days pregnant could not have an abortion in the state, according to a report of the Indianapolis star.
Instead, the girl had to travel to neighboring Indiana to access an abortion, one of many who are now forced to cross state borders to receive 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 where it will study new rules on abortion.
“It’s hard to imagine that in a few weeks we won’t have the capacity to provide that care,” Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis-based obstetrician and gynecologist who treated the 10-year-old, told the Star.
The story of the 10-year-old girl has sparked outrage across the country, and abortion advocates argue that the GOP cannot claim to be focused on protecting lives when it forces victims of child abuse to carry out their pregnancies.
“The Republican Party platform: The government ordered pregnancies for 10-year-olds,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said. dit on Saturday.
“The relentless sanctuary with which anti-abortion activists claim the highest morale while forcing 10-year-olds and rape victims to become pregnant against their will is perverse and repulsive,” said legal commentator Mark Joseph Stern . added to Twitter.
On Sunday, South Dakota Kristi Noem, seen as a rising star in the Republican Party, defended abortion laws, including that of South Dakota, which would mean the 10-year-old girl from Ohio should have her baby.
Ms. Noem said the “horrible” story of the girl would keep her awake at night, but that finally states like South Dakota, which ban all abortions except to save the pregnant person’s life, are doing the right thing.
“What I would say is that I don’t think a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy,” Ms. Noem told CNN. “There are more things we need to do to make sure we’re really living a life that says every life is beautiful, especially innocent lives that have been shattered like that 10-year-old girl.”
When anchor Dana Bash asked her if forcing a child to have a child was considered a medical risk to the mother, Ms. Noem did not commit.
“This situation, the doctors, the family, the closest people will make the decisions there for that family,” he said.
The ban on abortion in some states is absolute, with no exceptions for victims of rape, incest, and abuse.
But critics say it’s not just Republican extremism that exposes the 10-year-old’s story. They argue that it also highlights the urgency of using all the power of the federal government to restore access to abortion.
The Biden administration has pledged to things like maintaining already legal access to drug-based abortion services by mail, but has done nothing to change the new status quo.
Instead, many Democrats have again urged party supporters to run in the November election because, as Mr. Biden said, “this fall, Roe is at the polls.”
Some argue that this is the left-wing equivalent of Republicans calling for “thoughts and prayers” after armed violence: the aspect of care, but the absence of action.
“Ohio’s 10-year-old girl deserves someone to fight for her,” former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
“A 10-year-old girl was denied abortion services in Ohio. 10,” he continued. “So no, I don’t agree that the Democratic Party’s response at the federal level is simply ‘vote in November.’ Residents in my state can’t wait until November and 10-year-olds can’t vote.”
Instead, he called on the Biden administration to give the green light to the federal land abortion clinic and to pressure those who resisted the Senate to follow their calls to establish an exception to the filibuster to pass a law that Roe coding.