A 10-year-old child rape victim was forced to travel from Ohio to Indiana in order to get an abortion after being denied one in her own state.
The case has put into the spotlight the shocking impact of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a woman’s right to an abortion.
The story came into focus only three days after the court overturned a nationwide right to an abortion, which had been set by a precedent in Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court nearly 50 years prior. After the court overturned Roe, Ohio’s trigger ban came immediately into effect.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an OBGYN in Indianapolis, said she received a call from a doctor in Obio who treats child victims of abuse, asking for help.
Indiana has not yet banned or restricted abortion. But they are likely to do so later this month when a special session of the state assembly convenes.
After Roe was overturned, there has been a sharp increase in the number of patients coming to clinics for abortions in Indiana and other states where it is not yet illegal.
The case of the 10-year-old has placed prominent anti-abortion politicians in focus, who are trying to justify their stance on zero abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.
South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, a staunch republican vying to be the running mate of Donald Trump if he goes again for a third shot at the presidency in 2024, took to the media over the weekend.
Noem said she doesn’t believe that “a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy,” referring to an abortion as a second tragedy; not the tragedy of a 10-year-old being forced to carry a baby to term and give birth after being raped and impregnated.
When pressed, Noem said that “every single life is precious,” and that in South Dakota the law is that all abortions are illegal unless necessary to save the life of the mother.
The reporter asked if allowing an abortion to be performed on a child would be considered protecting that child’s life. She did not rule out the interpretation and instead deflected, saying it was up to the doctors and family members to make decisions for that family.
Doctors, law experts, and women’s rights experts say that forcing a child to carry her rapist’s baby and pushing a child into having a forced birth, violates so many rights.
Republicans standing by that the 10-year-old should have had to give birth are being called “inhumane” and “evil.”
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