A 10-year-old girl who was six weeks pregnant refused to have an abortion under draconian new US abortion rules. The state of Ohio changed its laws hours after Roe v Wade was overturned to declare terminations illegal after six weeks. Three days later, the child who had become pregnant due to rape, went to a state hospital. A child abuse doctor discovered she was pregnant, according to Cincinnati.com, but there was nothing he could do. The child had to be sent across the state border to neighboring Indiana, where a more liberal abortion regime still applies. But there are fears the road may soon be closed to even the most vulnerable women and girls with state legislatures across the country poised to follow Ohio and severely restrict access to abortion. When the Supreme Court overturned 50 years of federal protections for abortion rights, “trigger bans” went into effect in 13 states. Abortion rights have been a highly politicized debate in the US for decades on end (Image: Reuters) These states, mostly in the western and southern US, had passed laws designed to be ready to go into effect within 30 days of any possible overturning of Roe v Wade. State governments have adjourned until the summer, but some have signaled they could call special sessions to push ahead with the abortion ban. About half of the states are expected to ban or severely restrict abortion rights. Ohio’s law, which is similar to others proposed in other states, prohibits abortion after fetal heart activity is first detected. This usually happens around six weeks into pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant. Such laws have been pushed by politicians and anti-choice activists for years, but were blocked by the courts while the protections of Roe v Wade were still in place. About half of states are expected to ban or severely restrict access to abortion (Image: Reuters) Some Democratic states responded by strengthening abortion rights after the court’s decision, including opening the door to women who must travel for abortions. New Jersey introduced legislation designed to allow women who venture into the state seeking abortions to do so without fear of prosecution or civil litigation from their home states. The New York Senate has approved an amendment to the state constitution to codify the right to abortion, as well as the right to contraception. Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page.
