These numbers are staggering. Tragedy layered over tragedy for rape survivors who are not getting the health care that they need.
One of my relatives was the product of a rape. His mother resented him his entire life. Clearly, his very existence was a daily reminder of the violence that befell her. I felt torn about his recounting of how she abused him as a young child, on the one hand, and how she was herself a victim, on the other. Yes, they were both "survivors," so to speak, but they both lived tough lives.
For survivors and children alike, theirs is a massive burden of fluctuating emotions of pain, anger, and despair. Now multiply this by 26,000 women in our state who are impacted by the Texas state legislature outlawing abortions. In another 16 months, will this figure double and grow to 52,000, and then to 78,000 in yet another 16 months?! This feels horrific to me, setting into motion yet another policy-induced pathology in society that will find expression in the ugliest of ways. What are these legislators thinking?!
We must restore women's reproductive rights, not the least of which is the right to an abortion under circumstances of rape or incest. The current policy is beyond cruel and inhumane.
-Angela Valenzuela
Texas abortion laws do not offer exceptions for rape or incest.
 |
A pregnant woman stands for a portrait in this 2023 AP file photo. Texas saw an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies during the 16 months after the state outlawed all abortions with no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. AP file photo/Associated PressTexas saw an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies during the 16 months after the state outlawed all abortions, with no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That’s the highest figure among the 14 states with total abortion bans, with Texas having the largest population, according to the study. “Survivors who need abortion care should not have their reproductive autonomy further undermined by state policy,” said one of the authors, Dr. Kari White, of the Texas-based Resound Research for Reproductive Health. TEEN BIRTHS: Teen birth rates in Texas rise for first time in 15 years amid abortion ban, report finds The authors noted that while some pregnant rape survivors who need abortion care may be able to travel out of state or manage the pregnancy at home with abortion pills, the bans leave many survivors without a viable alternative. Following the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the researchers estimated there were 519,981 rapes associated with 64,565 pregnancies during the four to 18 months after states implemented total abortion bans. Of those pregnancies, an estimated 5,586 occurred in states with exceptions for rape and 58,979 in states with no exceptions. Of the five states with rape exceptions, strict gestational limits and requirements to report the rape to law enforcement make it harder for most survivors to qualify, the study said. There were 10 or fewer legal abortions per month in the five states with rape exceptions, the study said, indicating that survivors with access to abortion care still cannot receive it in their home state. “Politicians use the idea of abortion exceptions to provide political cover, but those so-called exceptions don’t actually help pregnant survivors get the care they need,” the study’s lead author Dr. Samuel Dickman said in the release. Dickman, a researcher at the City University of New York’s Research Foundation and the Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood of Montana, said rape survivors who become pregnant “deserve to make informed, personal decisions about their pregnancy, and state-level abortion bans–even those with exceptions–don’t allow them to do that.” Behind Texas, the states with the highest totals were Missouri (5,825), Tennessee (4,990), Arkansas (4,660), Oklahoma (4,530), Louisiana (4,290) and Alabama (4,130). Researchers at Harvard Medical School and The University of California, San Francisco, also carried out the study. The authors analyzed survey and crime report data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. They estimated the numbers of girls and women aged 15-45 who had survived rape that could result in pregnancy in each state after the bans took effect, then applied estimates of the pregnancy rate from rape. This story will be updated. Jan 24, 2024  By Julian Gill Julian Gill is a medical reporter for the Houston Chronicle. He can be reached at julian.gill@houstonchronicle.com. His wide-ranging work on the medical beat, including a three-part narrative on a COVID-19 lung transplant patient, was recognized at the 2022 Texas Managing Editors awards, where he received top honors in the specialty reporting category and second place in the star reporter of the year category. In addition to his extensive reporting on COVID, he has written about the effects of the Texas abortion ban, the maternal mortality crisis, and advances in the Texas Medical Center. He joined the paper in 2018 after two years at the Denton Record-Chronicle, where he covered police and county government. He graduated from the University of North Texas. A San Antonio native, he is a die-hard Spurs fan and avid runner. |
No comments:
Post a Comment