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.
This tragic illustration of why broad and unbending abortion bans are wrong shouldn't have strained credulity, particularly in Minnesota. The state Health Department provides an annual report on induced abortions. The data in it is more detailed than in many other state reports.
Even a cursory read clarifies that the young Ohio rape victim's plight is unusual but heartbreakingly plausible. While there's not enough granularity to confirm that the same situation has happened in Minnesota, there is enough to say that it could happen here — and likely already has.
In 2021, a total of 10,136 abortions were reported in Minnesota. Unlike annual reports from many neighboring states, ours explains why patients sought this medical procedure. Rape or incest are uncommon reasons but still happen in numbers that cannot — and should not — be dismissed.
In 2021, 44 of those who obtained an abortion in the state said the pregnancy resulted from rape, while 11 cited incest. In 2020, these figures were 49 and 7, respectively.
While Minnesota doesn't provide the age of those who reported these reasons for an abortion, it does provide more detail than many other states about the age of those seeking abortions here.
In 2021, 20 abortion patients in the state were younger than 15. In 2020, 28 patients fell into this age group. Minnesota's age of consent for sexual activity: 16.
It's not a stretch to believe that some of these young patients became pregnant due to rape or incest. It's also essential to understand the pregnancy risk in this age group. Children, quite simply, aren't ready to bear children.
"It's a very risky situation both physically and psychologically for a young girl to continue a pregnancy," said Dr. Kelly Morrison, an obstetrician-gynecologist and a Democratic state representative from Deephaven.
While access to abortion is unlikely to change in Minnesota due to a state Supreme Court ruling protecting abortion rights, the issue is likely to be high profile heading into the fall elections here and elsewhere. The availability of the state's annual report on abortions, which can be found online, and the detail it provides should inform political debate here.
Those who propose stricter access to abortion in Minnesota or elsewhere should understand who will be affected by any changes, particularly when it involves young children. The disbelief that greeted the 10-year-old Ohio rape victim's plight reflects a debate on this critical health issue that remains callous and regrettably ill-informed.
