On Wednesday night, former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards spoke for just two minutes during Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention, but her remarks were a gut punch. Richards told the story of a child in Mississippi who was forced to carry her rape-induced pregnancy to term after the state abortion ban denied her care. Time first reported the story in August 2023, concealing her identity and calling her Ashley. "Because of her state's abortion ban, she started seventh grade with a newborn," Richards, who shared her glioblastoma diagnosis earlier this year, said. "That's the Republican promise of states' rights."
According to Time, "Ashley" couldn't access abortion care after Mississippi's ban took effect in June 2022. Her mother said they were unaware the abortion ban offered an exception for rape, and the family couldn’t afford to travel to Chicago, which is the nearest place where abortion is legal. So, Ashley had no choice but to give birth, even as pregnancy at her age can jeopardize a child's life.
Her story exemplifies how rape exceptions often fail to help victims: “If I couldn’t figure out how to get a rape exception, how could this girl and her family?” Time’s Charlotte Alter wrote last year. In January 2023, the New York Times reported that only two exceptions have been made in Mississippi since its ban took effect. And in March this year, ABC reported that despite the Mississippi abortion ban’s stated exception for rape, there were just four abortions in the state in 2023 (compared to 3,800 in 2021), suggesting the exception is highly inaccessible. Doctors in violation of Mississippi's abortion ban can face up to 10 years in prison.
Shortly after Ashley gave birth, her family had to raise money on a GoFundMe page to move houses in order to live further from Ashley's rapist.
"Because of her state's abortion ban, she started seventh grade with a newborn. That's the Republican promise of states' rights."
— Former Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards tells the story of a 12-year-old in Mississippi who had to carry her baby to term after she was raped pic.twitter.com/fMEtXxBdRZ
— The Recount (@therecount) August 21, 2024
"Last year, I became a grandmother, and during my daughter's pregnancy, nothing mattered more to me than her health. Politics should never stand in the way of anyone's health care or prevent any family from experiencing the joy my grandson, Teddy, has brought to my life," Richards said. "One day, our children and grandchildren may ask us, when it was all on the line, what did you do? And the only acceptable answer is, everything we could."
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, reproductive rights advocates have placed particular emphasis on the impact of abortion bans on child victims like Ashley, or the 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio who had to travel to Indiana for abortion care in 2022. As Trump continues to deceitfully claim he'll "leave abortion to the states," these stories are a reminder that that's just as terrifying.
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