Theres perhaps is no better example of those lies thanabortion banexceptions.
you’re able to find some of those groupslinked here.
And these are just the stories we know about.
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None of these nightmares was an accident.
Abortion ban exceptions are deliberately crafted to be impossible to use.
In fact, the only reason they exist at all is to make Republicans seem a little less punishing.
Rape and Incest Exceptions
Whats one of the best-known facts about sexual assault survivors?
That they overwhelmingly dont report their attacks to law enforcement.
They include a requirement that the attacks must be reported to law enforcement.
So, Republicans add in a time limitation for rape victims to get care.
In some states, GOP legislators have written exceptions that purposefully terrify sexual violence victims.
Some Republicans are eager to make that threat of punishment even more explicit.
To put it plainly, anti-abortion legislators are relying on American victim-blaming to ensure that victims cant get care.
And these are just the laws that apply to adults.
Every single House Republican voted down an exception that would have allowed raped children to get care.
Some even say that women cant get pregnant from a rape at all.
One of the studys authors, Dr. Samuel Dickman, told NPR he was horrified seeing the numbers.
Sexual assault is incredibly common I knew that in a general sense.
But to be confronted with these estimates that are so high in states where theres no meaningful abortion access?
Its hard to comprehend.
Republicans have to be sly about this particular initiative.
But Cox doesnt live in a just world she lives in Texas.
As if this nightmare pregnancy was just business per usual.
Still, a sympathetic judge who got emotional during her ruling granted Coxs request.
She called what the law was doing to Cox a genuine miscarriage of justice.
That ruling didnt stand for long, though.
All to prevent one single woman from getting care.
Coxs story sparked fury across the country.
Americans saw, firsthand, exactly what anti-abortion politicians wanted for them and their families.
Republican legislators tried to run from questions about Cox in one case, literally.
One after another, Republicans showed their true colors.
In the end, so did Texas.
Then there are the states that deliberately include no language at all about what constitutes a fatal diagnosis.
How is any of this pro-life?
Cultivating that illusion of empathy is central to everything the GOP does when it comes to abortion.
Thats why Republicans frame their exceptions as policies that help and protect women.
The baby is inherently valuable and worthy of our love.
Thats what anti-abortion organizations and lawmakers are working on right now.
Theyre not sick enough, or not close enough to death.
If you were risking years in prison decades, even what would you choose?
Theres perhaps no better example of the failure of health and life exceptions than Tennessee.
WhenRoewas first overturned, the state didnt even have an allowance for womens lives.
Ectopic pregnancies are nonviable and deadly for the pregnant person.
But because of Tennessees law, doctors had to stop and prepare a legal defense before giving her care.
And what if a prosecutor decides, Well, we want to make an example.
Like, what if I wasnt bleeding internally enough?
The issue was that the woman wasnt inimmediatedanger.
This is just one state, and the politics of just under two years.
The same thing is happening everywhere.
Why Bother?
If the point is to ensure that patients cant use abortion ban exceptions, why include them at all?
The truth is that when it comes to abortion rights, Republicans are desperate.
The polling is astronomical, even in red states, and even among Republican voters.
By focusing on exceptions, Republican legislators would finally have an abortion stance thats popular.
For them, its a win-win.
The other reason Republicans love exceptions, though, is that they allow them to tap into American misogyny.
This is where Democrats and the pro-choice movement have a real opportunity to push back.
(At least the anti-abortion extremists who dont want exceptions at all are ideologically consistent.)
We have to let go of exceptions, too.
Theres never been a better time to do so.
In fact, its downright shameful we havent already.
Its absurd that the national conversation has become a question of when its fair to legislate someones body.
Every abortion denied is a tragedy.
You dont have to go into sepsis to be forever harmed by an abortion ban.
You dont need to be raped to have control of your body stolen from you.
Forcing anyone to be pregnant against their will, for any reason, is immoral and cruel.
From the bookABORTION: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Winby Jessica Valenti.
Copyright 2024 by Jessica Valenti.
