Abortions in the case of rape/incest

Yeah. About that...

Why do some states allow abortions only in the case of sexual assault?

Perhaps because even the most draconian woman-hater realizes that a pregnancy forced on a woman (or a girl) is never a good thing. Of course, incest or rape result in few pregnancies, so including them in the list of reasons a woman can seek an abortion doesn’t even count as paying lip service to women’s autonomy.

Such exemptions are only about 70 years old. Suffice it to say that the country’s abortion laws — which originally allowed abortions up the time of “quickening” — have been all over the map from the very beginning.

That’s changing. You can see the various state laws here, at Guttmacher Institute.

And here is a round-up of recent state legislation regarding abortion, also from Guttmacher. Our abortion laws are some of the most restrictive in our nation’s history. Texas’ and Mississippi’s new restrictions don’t even allow for rape or incest.

But the policy raises another sad question: Why does a woman (or a girl) only have agency over her body after someone attacks her, or if her life is at risk? Why does it take a horrible event to permit a woman (or a girl) to have a say in her reproductive future? I don’t think the Puritans would approve. I don’t think the natives who were here first would, either.

Swords up, ladies and gentlemen. Swords all the way up.