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04th Jul 2022

Ten-year-old rape victim denied abortion in US after Supreme Court decision

Jack Peat

Ohio bans abortion at 6 weeks… the young girl was 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant

Controversy over the US Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade resurfaced this week after it emerged that a 10-year-old child rape victim had been denied an abortion in Ohio.

Hours after the high court decision, the US state outlawed any abortion after six weeks into the pregnancy, a point at which many don’t yet know they’re pregnant.

The young girl approached a child abuse doctor she was 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant and was therefore denied an abortion.

The story has led to an outpouring of anger on social media, with one person saying America is “now the land where a 10-year-old victim of rape has fewer rights than the rapist”.

The 10-year-old was forced to travel to neighbouring Indiana to access an abortion, one of many now forced to cross state lines to receive abortion services.

And even this 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 consider further abortion rules.

“It’s hard to imagine that in just a few short weeks we will have no ability to provide that care,” Dr Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis-based obstetrician-gynecologist who treated the 10-year-old, told the Indianapolis Star.

California governor Gavin Newsom also hit out at Republicans after the news broke.

“The Republican Party platform: Government mandated pregnancies for 10-year-olds,” he said.

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Roe v Wade