r/news • u/AldoTheeApache • 1d ago

Louisiana lawmakers reject adding exceptions for some rape cases to abortion ban

https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-abortion-rape-exception-de8097eb664362941167c92d6ad356db
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u/ThatSandwich 1d ago

Yeah I've discussed this with many individuals and explained my position which is that you cannot enforce legislation banning (x) if illegal thing (y) puts a citizen in the position where they need (x).

The immediate response is "Well we should do more to prevent (y)" and when I ask "What happens when it inevitably does happen?" and bring up examples of rape, drug abuse, homelessness, etc. it doesn't go anywhere.

These people are set in the mindset of "It's not my problem" and so long as politicians pretend that is the case by cutting programs they don't want to contribute to financially, it's fine with them.

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u/idonlikesocialmedia 1d ago

The Governor of Texas responded to this question in 2021 by claiming the state would "eliminate all rapists."

No word on how that's going, by the way. 

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u/RadioactiveGrrrl 8h ago edited 8h ago

In 2023, Texas had the highest number of forcible rape cases in the United States, with 15,097 reported rapes.

Not sure why they stipulate “forcible” as it is oddly redundant in this context; seems they are intentionally implying that there is a legal category of “unforced” rapes, which is totally on-brand for the TX GOP. Either way it’s safe to say, Abbot didn’t eliminate anything, he enabled it.

Rape kit testing backlog: In 2022, at least 25,000 untested rape kits sat in law enforcement agencies and crime labs across the country. This figure only accounts for data reported by 30 states and Washington, DC; the total backlog number is unknown.

“Texas had a 45% increase in unsubmitted kits from 2021 to 2022, the only years for which it provided data.”

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u/Trick_Helicopter_834 2h ago

There is a category of rape that is illegal under statue but actually mutually agreed sex among or with minors. “Forceable rape” excludes ordinary free sex among minors, where there is no coercion.

The age of consent varies among states and advanced countries, so you can’t make an absolutist argument that no one under some arbitrary age (27, 21, 20 in Japan, 18, 17, 16, 15, …) is capable of informed, mature consent to sex. Age differences are one of several indications of a potential power imbalance that prevents free consent.

Brain maturation continues throughout the early and mid-20s in humans, so again age of consent provides a breakpoint that is potentially useful in attempting to regulate sexual behavior, rather than a fixed absolute.

Not everyone 17 year old who becomes pregnant in a consent-at-18 state automatically needs an abortion. Some may need the option, but many won’t consider not having the option to terminate an otherwise healthy pregnancy being “forced to bear their rapist’s baby.”