Gross trend alert! Last night at our incredible Robin Marty event an audience member asked if not including rape and incest exceptions in bills had become more prevelant. Turns out, it definitely has. Look through the recent google search of “no exceptions abortion ban” you find a WHOSE who of lowlifes trying to make sure that abortion is just entirely illegal cuz fuck the Constitution any way, right? “Alabama Lawmakers Want to Make Abortion a Felony” no exceptions. Let’s just think about this for a second: it’s legit SO hard to prosecute someone for rape but… NOW we’re just gonna be like “Ope, but if you get an abortion because of that… NOW IT’s A FELONY FOR YOU!” In Tennessee they’re trying to pass an abortion trigger law… no exceptions for rape of incest… even if you’re under 18… even though people have been trying to ammend the bill. Ohio’s cardiac pole bill didn’t include an exception either.
Robin Marty pointed out that the reason for this is partially lobbyist (motivation hate speaker) Rebecca Kiessling whose “Save the 1” campaign tries to torpedo anti-abortion legislation that DOES include a rape exception. GAHHHHHHHHHHH! This makes us furious!
But our founder Lizz Winstead made a point that we wanted to drive home here too. This “no exceptions” thing is technically who they all are. Everyone who is anti-abortion doesn’t REALLY want to consider the living person carrying the fetus. They just want to hyperbolically shame and judge people nonstop. So, in pushing these laws, if they’re doctrine is any indication, they all WOULD naturally be “no exceptions,” because they don’t care. So the other side SHOULD have to live in this ugliness, the ugliness of their true beliefs.
And this is not to say, that we are not sympathetic with the people in Kiessling’s campaign, the people “conceived in rape.” OF COURSE WE ARE! Every story is different! We just can’t be LEGISLATING based on our own moral barometer of what is a good or bad decision to be made ABOUT YOUR OWN BODY and your own pregnancy. Especially for people who were ALREADY DENIED their own body autonomy when they were raped.
So we hope that you all look at these “no exceptions” rules and see the other side for exactly what it is: cruel and exacting and completely unsympathetic. Period!
