Arkansas’s top law enforcement official has defended the state’s law that would ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest, including with respect to children, stating that “God intended life to begin at conception.”
A day after a draft of a Supreme Court ruling was leaked, suggesting the court would overturn Roe vs. WadeOfficials in Arkansas and other states were preparing to enact near-total abortion bans at the time the 1973 ruling was formally overturned.
A total of 26 states are likely to ban abortion once it happens, and Arkansas is one of 13 that have already passed so-called “trigger laws,” meaning the ban would go into effect immediately, without the need for further actions by the state legislature or governor.
Of those 13 states, Arkansas is one of 10 that make no exceptions if a person, even a minor, becomes pregnant as a result of rape or incest. The only exception is to save the life of the mother, if she is considered to have a medical emergency.
During an interview on PBS Newshour, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, a Republican, was asked to clarify whether exceptions were made for children who had been raped.
“So, just in life-threatening cases, would that be the only exception? Not in cases, say, if a minor is raped and pregnant, that person cannot legally have an abortion, correct?” she was asked
She replied: “Correct. The outright ban is simply for saving the life of the mother in a medical emergency.”
“We are prepared, we were prepared in 2019 when we passed this law in Arkansas in case the court did. Like many Americans, we are hopeful and praying because many of us thought for the last 50 years that we would never see this day.”
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When asked about the fact that one in five children in Arkansas lived in poverty and that the foster care system has been overwhelmed in recent years, Ms. Rutledge dismissed the suggestion that her state could not afford such services and said those children would receive “love” and “great educational opportunities.”
“I have worked in the foster care system. What those children need is our love. What they don’t need is for someone to put a price on their life,” she said.
“How much is your life worth to them? Absolutely everything. What is it worth to God? Absolutely everything.”
She added: “God intended that life begin at conception. He did not intend that life to have a nominal price, put on that child’s head by some liberal who says it costs too much for that human life.”
The refusal to include an exception for incest and sexual assault cases puts women in Arkansas and nine other states (Kentucky, Utah, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota and Tennessee) on the same level. than people in other nations. like Guatemala, a mostly Catholic country.
Leslie Rutledge said other states were looking at places like Arkansas
(AFP via Getty Images)
It was previously completely illegal there, but it changed its laws in 1973 to allow abortions in cases where the woman’s life was in danger. Abortion remains completely illegal in several other Latin American and Caribbean nations, notably the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
“Most countries around the world allow abortion in cases of rape and/or incest, either through laws listing these grounds or by allowing abortion on request,” says the Center for Reproductive Rights, a global advocacy group. of health rights based in New York.
In light of the leaked bills, activists in the US have banded together to fight for reproductive rights at the state level, where religious conservatives have in most cases seized the momentum.
Amanda Brown Lierman, executive director of the campaign group Supermajority, said the nation was at “the most terrifying crossroads in the history of women’s reproductive justice and our ability to make decisions for our own bodies.”
In a statement, she added: “Now is the time for women to fight for abortion care and reproductive justice, to organize for abortion care and reproductive justice, and to vote for abortion care and reproductive justice.” .
Mrs. Rutledge did not immediately respond to questions from the independent.