the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jul 18, 2022
A 10-year-old girl has become a political football for the Democrats and the Republicans to pass back and forth for their own political gain. On June 30 of this year, the six and a half months pregnant 10-year-old, from Ohio, crossed state lines to get an abortion in Indiana because Ohio has a “fetal heartbeat” law that makes all abortions after six weeks illegal. This law came into effect after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade six days earlier.
The Democrats want us to believe that if we vote for them in November, this kind of thing won’t happen. But women and children have been raped and sexually abused every day in class society, regardless of who is in office.
This little girl is, sadly, not the only one. While the data about rapes that lead to pregnancy is limited, a CDC (Centers for Disease Control) report found that more than 1,700 infants were born to children aged 10 to 14. Since May 9 there have been 50 police reports of rapes or sexual abuse for girls age 15 or younger in Columbus, Ohio alone. In 2020, there were 52 abortions in children age 15 or younger, again just for Columbus, Ohio.
No, this child is hardly alone. The CDC indicates that three million women experience rape-related pregnancies in their lifetime. One in nine girls under age 18 experience rape, according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN). No matter who has been elected, Democrat or Republican, this kind of tragedy continued to happen.
The Republicans show themselves for the right-wing monsters they are, denying at first it had happened. Then they admitted it might have been a rape but tried to claim the procedure was not an abortion. Jim Bopp, a lawyer for an anti-abortion organization, proclaimed, "We should not devalue the life of the baby because of the sins of the father." What about the girl’s life? She is already born. Does she have no rights? Are women and girls just supposed to sacrifice their own well-being to continue a forced pregnancy?
There are 17 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in the U.S., while Canada only has half as many maternal deaths. Pregnancy for most adult women can kill them. We should "think of this as a child [referring to the pregnant 10-year-old] whose organs are more vulnerable, whose body has not developed to be able to handle 9 months of that kind of pressure," explained Michele Goodwin, author of Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood. What is certain is that teen pregnancies carried to term will only increase as a result of the Supreme Court decision.
The Democrats may not have been so outrageous, but they offer women no protection. This is something elections can’t fix. It will require fights that change this rotting society and its reactionary view of women.