A disturbing level of disbelief greeted recent reports of a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim who had to cross state lines into Indiana for an abortion.
The tragic situation first came to light in a July 1 Indianapolis Star story. Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist, told the newspaper that she'd been contacted by a colleague in Ohio about a young patient. The child could not get an abortion in her home state after Ohio's ban on abortions after six weeks took effect following the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in late June.
The story went viral and was met with broad skepticism. A Wall Street Journal editorial called it "an abortion story too good to confirm." A Washington Post's fact-checker downplayed the Star's report as a "one-source story." Charges against a 27-year-old Ohio man, who police said "admitted" to raping the young girl, eventually provided unfortunate confirmation of the truth, however.
