Imagine this:
You’re the parent of a 11 year old girl, she gets her period for the first time, early but happens all the time. No big deal! She decides she wants to go to summer camp and you send her, shell have so much fun! When at summer camp, she is raped by a 45 year old maintenance man for the camp ground. She’s too afraid to tell anyone. You never find out.
The following month she doesn’t get her period, being only her 3-5 one ever since she started you parents don’t think much, your wife reassures you her cycle didn’t begin an exact month to month track until she had been menstruating for a full year. Two weeks later your wife gets concerned and brings her to the doctors. They tell you your 11 year old is 6 weeks and 1 day pregnant.
How could this happen? Omg what happened? Who did this to you?
You’re daughter tells you about the rape, she’s still confused if that’s what happened. You see in elementary school they haven’t taught sex education and she never knew what was really happening.
Well surely you can obtain an abortion, she can’t have a baby at 11 years old. And she surely can’t have a baby from her 45 year old rapist. The doctor then informs you that due to the new laws in your state unless you’ve filed a police report about the rape before this appointment finding out she is pregnant, that legally the 6 week mark indicates no doctor can perform her abortion.
Well that’s insane. She’s 11. We didn’t know she was raped. She didn’t even know that’s what was happening. Ok no worries we’ll leave state and go to another state to have the abortion.
Well the doctor informs you that you can’t do that either. Due to this new law any woman who leaves state and receives an abortion is facing 10 years in prison. Anyone who facilitates this person in leaving state can also be charged with conspiracy to murder. And if she gets an abortion illegally, like at home or they give her medication to help assist the abortion process, she can face the death penalty.
So what do we do?
Well, by your states laws, nothing. Your 11 year old must now give birth to the baby of a 45 year old who raped her. Unless her life becomes in danger due to the pregnancy, she can not receive an abortion.
This is the reality for every citizen in the state of Ohio starting January 1st 2020.
This is not the land of the free.
This is disgusting.
I hope to God no one ever has to experience a situation like this.
But let’s be honest. The bill only covers rape or incest termination of pregnancies after 6 weeks, if a formal police report was filed before the woman finds out she’s pregnant.
Let’s talk about how many hundreds of thousands of rapes or incestuous rapes occur and aren’t reported. Let’s talk about 11 year olds who don’t know they’ve been raped. Let’s talk about the shame this country puts on young girls who come forward with rape stories. Let’s talk about the 14 year old just raped here in NY and her rapist is receiving PROBATION. Let’s talk about how most women don’t know their pregnant until they are already 6 weeks pregnant. Let’s talk about how urine pregnancy tests can often not pick up on a positive for pregnancy until between 5-8 weeks, depending on the hormone levels in a woman’s body and every woman is different.
I feel for every girl and every woman living in Ohio. I pray you all within the next year are able financially to move to another state. But honestly at the rate this country is going considering rape and abortions, we should all just really leave the country.
My heart is so heavy for Ohio.
-Julie Allen
