We are making headlines through our dedication to setting the clock back 50 years. There’s a case of a 10 year old child from Ohio coming to Indiana to get an abortion because she was raped. Let’s just get this part out of the way now: If this isn’t an exception to the rule then stop pretending you have welfare in mind at all.
But they didn’t bother pretending. The state’s AG immediately called the record of the physician into question publicly. Joke’s on that asshole, though. The physician who had the unenviable task of providing an abortion for a 10 year old has a completely spotless record. Don’t think for one second that the AG will stop with this one instance, though. This was an opening salvo in a war against choice.
Can we just stop for a second and restate the facts real quick?
A 10 year old girl was raped by a 27 year old man. The 10 year old girl had the incredible misfortune of then becoming pregnant. At 10. It is a personal tragedy on a scale I’ve never witnessed. The suffering surrounding this is potentially insurmountable for everyone immediately involved. What happened after the discovery of the pregnancy was frankly none of our business but thanks to the national conversation, that very personal information is entirely public.
The fact that I am even harping on this information is a sign that something is terribly wrong. I shouldn’t have the information because no one should.
Now circle back to the political aspect of this shit show. As is tradition, the Bible-thumping super-conservatives are saying that the pregnancy should have been carried to term. Just what in the actual fuck is going through the minds of these people? IT’S A 10 YEAR OLD GIRL YOU FUCKING LUNATICS. Do you think this was just an accident among two consenting adults? It was a crime, perpetrated against a child. Her life is likely already ruined because of the fallout, but it 100% would have been ruined if she had been forced to carry to term. That’s if she didn’t just die outright.
Some of the same people who say the child should have carried to term are responsible for helping draft legislation to make abortion completely illegal in Indiana. There are proposed exceptions to the rule due to rape and incest cases but both of those should have a gigantic asterisk.
* – Only available to those who pursue an abortion within 8-12 weeks of conception. (I’m paraphrasing the wording here, the actual text is infuriating.)
That’s right. Even in cases of rape or incest, there will be a running clock on when a person can receive an abortion. In the proposed range, a person might have zero idea that they are pregnant. Nevermind the fact that they may still be processing a life shattering, traumatic event. I suppose the sanctity of life doesn’t apply to the person who has their life destroyed by the aforementioned rape or incest, though, does it? Come down off the cross, we need the wood for the fire that’s sure to follow.