Enlarge / Professional-choice protesters march exterior the Texas State Capitol on Sept. 1, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (credit score: Getty Pictures | The Washington Publish )
Fourteen states have banned abortions at any gestational age for the reason that Supreme Courtroom overruled Roe v. Wade in 2022. Because the enactment of these abortion bans, an estimated 64,565 individuals grew to become pregnant because of rape in these states. However, whereas 5 of the 14 states have exceptions for rape, the entire states logged solely 10 or fewer authorized abortions per thirty days since their respective bans have been enacted.
The discovering, revealed this week in JAMA Inner Medication, is a stark have a look at the results of such bans on reproductive well being care. The examine didn’t assess how most of the estimated 64,565 pregnancies resulted in births, but it surely makes clear that tens of 1000’s of pregnant rape survivors, together with youngsters, have been compelled to show to unlawful procedures, self-managed abortions, or burdensome journey to states the place abortion is authorized—cost-prohibitive to many—as a substitute for carrying a rape-related being pregnant to time period.
It additionally confirmed that authorized exceptions for rape do not work. The states with these exceptions apply stringent cut-off dates on the being pregnant and require victims to report their rapes to regulation enforcement, which possible disqualifies most. The US Division of Justice estimates that solely 21 p.c of victims report their rape to police, for myriad causes.
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