The practical consequences of putting the United States Federal Supreme Court into practice removed women’s right to self-determined abortion, is now beginning to show. In Ohio, one of the more restrictive states, a ten-year-old girl who is a victim of rape was denied an abortion and had to go to the neighboring state of Indiana to have the operation performed, writes The Guardian.
Sharp increase
The source of the information is Dr. Caitlin Bernard from the Indian capital Indianapolis. She says she was asked for help from a colleague in Ohio who treats abuse victims.
Indiana, too, is likely to severely curtail abortion rights when the state legislature votes on the issue later in July.
According to The Guardian, doctors who perform abortions are now experiencing a sharp increase in requests from patients from neighboring states where residents now no longer have access to this.
– It is difficult to imagine that in a few weeks we will no longer have the opportunity to offer this treatment, says doctor Bernard to the Ohio newspaperColumbus Dispatch.
Focuses on the perpetrator
Christian conservative politicians who have fought for the removal of the court – as Donald Trump once advocated in his election campaign – now get the focus on themselves when faced with real-life examples, such as the ten-year-old Ohio girl.
“I think it’s incredible that no one is talking about the perverted, horrible and insane person who raped a ten-year-old,” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
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Norwegian-born Noem is mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate for Trump in the 2024 election.
In Noem’s home state, it is now criminal to perform an abortion, “unless there is an appropriate and reasonable medical assessment that the performance of an abortion is necessary to sustain the pregnant woman’s life”. Incest and rape do not qualify for exemption from the law.
Someone was pressured by CNN’s host Dana Bash to try to change the law in a case similar to the one in Ohio in South Dakota, she replied:
– I believe that a tragic situation should not be exacerbated by another tragedy. There is more we need to do to make sure we really live a life that says every life is precious, especially innocent lives that have been ruined, like the life of a ten year old.
– Cruel
The governor agreed that the ten-year-old’s situation was “cruel”.
– But: In South Dakota, the law today says that abortion is illegal, except to save the mother’s life, she stated.
– No, no, I do not see that it can happen in the foreseeable future. These judges are appointed for life, and there is a clear predominance of conservatives. In short, there is no prospect of this here. And even if one were to think that now one will try to reverse this, it will be a battle that will continue for many decades to come, said the political scientist and continued:
– So this is “the law of the land” for many decades to come.