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   From: NOT-SURE@idiocracy.gov   
      
   On 5/7/22 1:00 AM, John Dillinger wrote:   
   >     
   > In abortion fight, conservatives push to end all exceptions   
   > By REBECCA BOONE and JOHN HANNA   
   >   
   > BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Angela Housley was halfway through her pregnancy   
   > when she learned the fetus was developing without parts of its brain   
   > and skull and would likely die within hours or days of birth, if it   
   > survived that long.   
   >   
   > The news came during her 20-week ultrasound.   
   >   
   > "The technician got a really horrible look on her face," Housley said.   
   > "And we got the really sad news that our baby was anencephalic."   
   >   
   > It was 1992 and abortion was legal in Idaho, though she had to dodge   
   > anti-abortion protesters outside the Boise hospital after the   
   > procedure. If the same scenario were to happen later this year, she   
   > would likely be forced to carry to term.   
   >   
   > That's because Idaho, which bans abortion after six weeks, is one of   
   > at least 22 states with laws banning abortion before the 15th week,   
   > many of them lacking exceptions for fetal viability, rape or incest,   
   > or even the health of the woman. Several of those bans would take   
   > effect if the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling overturning the 1973   
   > Roe v. Wade decision, as a leaked draft of the opinion suggests.   
   >   
   > Such exceptions were once regularly included in even the most   
   > conservative anti-abortion proposals. But as the battle over abortion   
   > access heats up, experts on both sides of the issue say the exceptions   
   > were a temporary stepping stone intended to make anti-abortion laws   
   > more palatable.   
   >   
   > Many of the current abortion bans are designed as "trigger laws,"   
   > automatically going into effect if the high court overturns the   
   > nationwide right to abortion. That ruling is expected to be released   
   > by late June or early July.   
   >   
   > Alabama and Oklahoma have enacted bans with no exceptions. Alabama's   
   > 2019 law is blocked in federal court but could be reinstated based on   
   > the Supreme Court's ruling. The Republican sponsors envisioned the   
   > legislation as a vehicle to challenge Roe in court, and said they   
   > could add rape and incest exceptions later if Roe is overturned.   
   >   
   > "They're basically using people -- in this particular situation, women   
   > -- as collateral damage," said Democratic Rep. Chris England, the   
   > chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. "In the debate, we tried to   
   > talk reasonably to them and say, 'What happens if you win? This is the   
   > law, You're not going to have the opportunity to change it before   
   > people get hurt.'"   
   >   
   > Several other states, including Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana,   
   > Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, also have bans or trigger   
   > laws in place that lack exceptions for rape or incest, according to   
   > the Guttmacher Institute and Associated Press reporting.   
   >   
   > Idaho and Utah have exceptions for rape or incest, but require the   
   > pregnant woman to first file a police report and then prove to the   
   > abortion provider the report was made. Only about a third of sexual   
   > assaults are reported to police, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest   
   > National Network.   
   >   
   > Texas and Idaho allow exceptions for "medical emergencies" but leave   
   > that interpretation up to physicians, making some critics fear doctors   
   > will wait to intervene until a woman is near death.   
   >   
   > Public support for total abortion bans appears to be low, based on a   
   > Pew Research Center survey released Friday and conducted in March. The   
   > survey showed that just 8% of U.S. adults think abortion should be   
   > illegal in all cases with no exceptions, and that 61% of adults say   
   > abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances. Surveys   
   > consistently show that many Americans have nuanced attitudes around   
   > the legality of abortion depending on the stage of pregnancy,   
   > circumstances of conception and health of the mother or fetus.   
   >   
   > Arkansas has two near-total abortion bans -- a trigger law from 2019   
   > and one passed last year that is blocked in federal court. Neither   
   > have exceptions for rape or incest, though they do allow abortions to   
   > save the woman's life. The state also never repealed its pre-1973   
   > total abortion ban with no restrictions.   
   >   
   > Republicans in the state were split on the issue last year, with Gov.   
   > Asa Hutchinson and Sen. Missy Irvin expressing reservations about the   
   > lack of protections for sexual assault survivors.   
   >   
   > "Do you know how many young girls are on suicide watch because they   
   > were raped, because they were a victim of incest?" asked Irvin, who   
   > ultimately voted for last year's bill.   
   >   
   > The sponsor of last year's ban, Republican Sen. Jason Rapert, defended   
   > the lack of exemptions, saying it still allowed the use of emergency   
   > contraception.   
   >   
   > Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst for the abortion-rights   
   > supporting Guttmacher Institute, said that of 86 pending proposals for   
   > abortion restrictions this year, only a few -- including one each in   
   > Idaho, New Jersey and West Virginia -- include rape and incest   
   > exceptions.   
   >   
   > The exceptions were always "incredibly limited," she said. "You might   
   > think these exceptions are helpful. But in fact they're so restricted,   
   > they're very hard to use."   
   >   
   > Troy Newman, president of the national anti-abortion group Operation   
   > Rescue, said exceptions to abortion restrictions for rape and incest   
   > and to protect a pregnant woman's life in the past have been "thrown   
   > in there to appease some centrists."   
   >   
   > Newman said his group, based in Wichita, Kansas, opposes rape and   
   > incest exceptions. Their rationale: "Don't punish the baby for the   
   > crime of the father."   
   >   
   > The Ohio Legislature is weighing a trigger law that lacks sexual   
   > assault exceptions. During a hearing last month, the bill's GOP   
   > sponsor, Rep. Jean Schmidt, caused controversy when she called   
   > pregnancy resulting from rape "an opportunity" for the rape victim to   
   > "make a determination about what she's going to do to help that life   
   > be a productive human being."   
   >   
   > She was responding to a question from Democratic Rep. Rich Brown, who   
   > asked if a 13-year-old impregnated during a rape would be forced to   
   > carry to term.   
   >   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)