Abortion laws in Ohio and the victims

[Fjrocks]

  Sexual Abuse Trigger Warning

  I had seen this the other day and didn't have time to dig into it, but now some of the national media has picked it up.  A man staying with a family in Ohio,  raped and impregnated three sisters and was just sentence to prison this week for 27 years..

  That is so heartbreaking, but the part of the story that broke my heart was while one of the three young girls was able to receive an abortion,  her two sisters were not because their pregnancies were discovered too late.  They have since given birth. One of the victims was 12 years old.  So essentially, their rapist got 27 years and they got a life sentence. 

   This led me to research the current abortion laws in the state of Ohio and they are relatively strict,  no abortions past 20 weeks except life endangerment circumstances, mandatory ultrasounds, counseling, waiting periods  and required parental consent.  A previous law restricting access to abortion was discussed here in 2016 when it was signed. 

   Things are very active in Ohio on the abortion scene,   Gov Kasich recently signed a new law to ban ALL abortions for Downs and other genetic disorders.  Last week, the Ohio Supreme Court dealt a huge blow that put two clinics in serious jeopardy of losing their business license.  Feminist Gloria Steinham (originally from Ohio) and other protestors  spent today pleading with area hospitals to sign the necessary transfer care agreements required under state law to keep them open.  They were signed just one hour ago.

    I am so glad people are at the forefront of this fight while I am busy with life,  I am so grateful to the activists who devote their lives to these causes.   This is about human rights.  I absolutely and wholly believe we must maintain this legal freedom and access in EVERY state and certainly not so restrictive that a 12 year old rape victim isn't able obtain them for her quality of life.   These are heartbreaking and difficult choices women are making for multiple reasons.  I set aside my personal beliefs on abortion and take the hands of others and surround ALL women in protecting this freedom and the privacy of it.    We absolutely must.

  Excuse me while I cancel my evening plans to go write some damn letters to protect sexual assault victims that I don't know why I am writing in 2018. 

  

http://time.com/4608454/john-kasich-ohio-abortion-ban/

https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/22/health/ohio-governor-signs-down-syndrome-abortion-ban/index.html

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2018/02/12/Protesters-urge-ProMedica-St-Luke-s-to-sign-agreement-with-Toledo-s-last-abortion-clinic.html

http://people.com/crime/ohio-man-sentenced-raping-impregnating-teen-sisters/

[Howl]

This is heartbreaking, @Fjrocks, and so horrible.  My heart goes out to all of those girls and I can't imagine what it does to the body and mind of an abused 12-year-old to be forced to bear a child. 

 

[NotQuiteMotY]

I want to know who the hell looks at a pregnant 12-year-old and thinks that there's no way a pregnancy could endanger her life.

[Duggarite]

Exactly! How a pregnancy at 12 years old is not life threatening? 

I live in Spain, a traditionally catholic country and I am pretty sure she would have gotten an abortion here. Basically, we have a 14 weeks limit, until 14 weeks you can have an abortion with a three day “think about it” period even at a public hospital (though most people would go private, where it is about 600 euros and you get things like a private room, quicker, more convenient hours, etc). After 14 weeks we allow foetal health issues and mother health  issues until week 22. We consider mother’s mental health as important as any other health issues. 

Basically, a 12 year old could have an abortion for free in our public healthcare system until 22 weeks. And obviously we would jail the rapist. Having sex with someone under 16 years old is against the law unless you are also a teenager (consensual sex between 14 year old with 15 year old is permitted regardless the gender of the teenagers). 

 

And this is a quite traditional catholic country where when my parents got married was impossible to get a hotel room for a couple unless you were married to each other. 

Poor girls! I hope they get all the care and support in the world! 

[Duggarite]

It also surprises me the low sentence. If it were multiple days of raping the girls it is highly unlikely that he would get something less than a couple of centuries, beacause the judges can consider those different days a different acts and each of them is 12-15 years in jail. Even with the consideration of the same act ( difficult) it would run from a minimum of 36 years of sentence. He’d probably ended up spending at least  30 years behind bars. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I wish there was some way this guy could get a job in jail and all the money would go to the children. The mother of these three girls now has to raise two more babies. I know a 12 year old sure can't even come close to doing it on her own. This just makes me sick. He got two years longer than the recommended sentence! This is one of the many reasons why there shouldn't be a ban on 20+ week abortions. 

[usedbicycle]

Pro-choice woman here, I strongly support elective late-term abortion for any medical reason (of the mother or foetus), cases of rape/incest, and pregnancy of minors. 

But it's important to understand that in no way is it an easy solution. Late-term abortion is a completely different experience than a first-trimester abortion because the foetus is moving a lot and obviously more developed. Insensitive or unknowing Dr's may have shown a sonogram or disclosed the sex, making the child more "real".

The heavy surgery associated with late-term abortion (I'm talking post-viability, weeks 25-onward) is physically on-par with childbirth. Depending on their relationship with the unborn foetus, not all women would choose that option over giving birth. 

There's no easy way out for these girls in such a sick situation, no way that won't cause them additional pain and trauma. I agree with the poster above that they have a life sentence on their shoulders, and the rapist should get the same. 

 

[Duggarite]

For a late term abortion you have to give birth, either vaginally or vía C-section. A 30 week fetus needs to be born either vaginally or via csection because of the size. In Spain after viability (w23 onwards) you would give birth and then place the baby for adoption. The only exception that allows late term abortion is foetal disease. 

 From the legal point of view giving birth and placing for adoption is probably your only option here. We have had a recent case where a 11 year old gave birth (pregnant by a 15 year old brother) and the baby and the mother have been placed in custody with the local social services. The girl presented to the hospital one hour before giving birth so an abortion was not an option. The parents are being investigated for neglect as they seemed to do not pick up the girl was pregnant. 

[Briefly]

1 hour ago, Duggarite said:

For a late term abortion you have to give birth, either vaginally or vía C-section. A 30 week fetus needs to be born either vaginally or via csection because of the size. In Spain after viability (w23 onwards) you would give birth and then place the baby for adoption. The only exception that allows late term abortion is foetal disease. 

 From the legal point of view giving birth and placing for adoption is probably your only option here. We have had a recent case where a 11 year old gave birth (pregnant by a 15 year old brother) and the baby and the mother have been placed in custody with the local social services. The girl presented to the hospital one hour before giving birth so an abortion was not an option. The parents are being investigated for neglect as they seemed to do not pick up the girl was pregnant. 

How in the world did they miss that!

[SuperSluth]

I have lots of family in Ohio. It is such a strange state...truly a swing state.  I have aunts and uncles who very liberal but on the other hand, I have others who are extremely conservative. They repost every anti-abortion thing that comes across their news feed. Go to the creation museum all the time. They believe birth control pills is abortion. Soo conservative that one daughter went into a mental institution after her high school boyfriend broke up with her (she had lost her virginity to him and thought they were getting married soon...had a total, complete breakdown) and the other daughter just had a baby with a guy she met in rehab.  He has to live in a halfway house because he was dealing heroin. She was doing crack and speed at her waitressing job.  My Aunt and Uncle really thought their girls were going to settle down and marry the first guy they ever dated, didn't need careers, didn't need college to ease in to living independently, didn't need birth control.  I just don't get it.

[ophelia]

My sister did a high school year in a small town in Ohio and my ex-boyfriend and I visited her there. Her guest-father was a huge Palin supporter and ranted about immigration and health care (and lots of other things) all the time. It was quite hard for me to keep my mouth shut, since he was very hospitable at the same time! On the other hand I met some or her friends from school and they and their families were really liberal and open minded. One of her friends, a green haired emo-type girl (the one Erin Bates Paine is/was so afraid to meet in ebil public school) had a Christian punk band with her brother and some friends. They were gorgeous!!

[Duggarite]

On 15/2/2018 at 2:24 AM, Briefly said:

How in the world did they miss that!

That is exactly the reason why they are being prosecuted right now and their daughter is with a foster family.