A Young Victim Of Incest Was Denied An Abortion In Florida And Forced To Travel For Care, Planned Parenthood Said

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annabetts/abortion-florida-ban-incest

I am back.   My internet is up and running and my computers have all been hooked up.   Tomorrow I will post a picture of the new set up and maybe even get to doing all the things I love to do online.   Now to the post, tell me what you would do as a desperate teenager, maybe 13, 14, 15 years old and seeing all your hopes and dreams disappearing because of something growing inside you that you did not want.   I know the stupid fucked up fundies say well if the girl did not want to be pregnant she shouldn’t have had sex.    Screw that.  Her boyfriend may have forced her into it, she may like sex as it feels great for all involved if done correctly and damn it that includes women.  Yes women / girls get to enjoy sex and orgasming also, it is not just a boys right / fun thing to do.  The girl might have been raped and sadly that is too often the cause of young teen pregnancies.   Whatever the reason a zygote / fetus with no viability shouldn’t have the right to overrule a already living breathing alive human person.    The religious assholes like to say well it is a potential life, Ya well the girl / woman / pregnant person with the unwanted thing growing inside them is a life also!   A fully developed life!   I am sorry for being rude and strident, but I will no longer play nice when the other side is ruining lives and killing people because they have a weirdly wrong view of their holy books.  Those people did not understand how germs works and to wash their hands.   Today we have the Webb telescope showing us nearly the beginning of the universe.  I am done being nice and trying to reason with these people.   They are domestic terrorist harming the female population.   I am not going to accept their right to do that.  Jesus I am sitting here thinking of my fears that age and have such compassion for a young girl that age.   How terrifying it must all be.  People don’t seem to understand.    Your body is changing, you want to hide what happened regardless if you wanted it, liked it, or had if forced on you the last thing you want is everyone knowing about it.   Then your body changes, the adults in your life freak, and you get told because you tried to hide it or make it go away it is too late to medically do anything to help you.  You as a child who cannot sign contracts, need your parents to agree and sign for medical treatment, need adults to legally run your life are now suddenly expected to also bring a baby into the world.   Good fucken luck.    Hugs

Florida’s abortion ban prohibits the procedure after 15 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Anna Betts

BuzzFeed News Reporter

 

Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images

 

A woman waits for her appointment to receive an abortion at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 14.

 

 

 

 

A child who was the victim of incest was denied an abortion in Florida since the state instituted its 15-week ban in July, the local Planned Parenthood chapter told BuzzFeed News.

The GOP-controlled state legislature allowed exceptions to the 15-week ban in order to save the pregnant person’s life, prevent a serious injury, or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, and violators of the law could face up to five years in prison.

Laura Goodhue, vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida, did not disclose the patient’s exact age or the state they traveled to receive an abortion, but she told BuzzFeed News they were in middle school. Goodhue had initially said another middle schooler who experienced incest was denied an abortion in Florida, then on Thursday clarified to BuzzFeed News that the cause of the second patient’s pregnancy was not confirmed.

In order to obtain the procedure, both of the young patients had to travel “at least two, three states away,” she said. Planned Parenthood helped arrange their travel, and they were accompanied by family members.

“The cruelty of forcing a very young person, who has already survived a horrible case of violence, to give birth, it just takes away their rights to bodily autonomy, and it is really turning a blind eye to what is happening in our society,” she said.

 

 

 

 

Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images

 

A woman sits in an examination room as she waits to receive an abortion at the Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 14.

 

 

 

 

Democrats in Florida had tried to add exceptions for rape, incest, and human trafficking into the bill before the ban was in effect, but that effort was rejected by the Republican lawmakers in February.

The 15-week ban came as neighboring states like Georgia and Alabama have almost or completely banned abortion. Since June, Florida clinics near the state’s border have seen more than double the typical number of patients, Alexandra Mandado, president of Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida, said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

At their clinics, Mandado said, they are also seeing an increase in young people seeking abortions, as well as an increase in survivors of domestic abuse, rape, and incest, “none of whom have any say of their own bodies if they are over 15 weeks pregnant,” she said. “We are seeing patients who did not know that they were past 15 weeks of pregnancy.”

Mandado told the story of a patient who had been experiencing symptoms of chronic fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. Multiple doctors attributed her symptoms to long COVID. But after weeks of doubt, she finally took a pregnancy test and found that she was unexpectedly pregnant, Mandado said.

“When she arrived at Planned Parenthood, she learned that she was past the limit of our state’s abortion ban,” she said.

Dr. Shelly Tien, an OB-GYN who provides care in northern Florida and also spoke at the press conference, said many of the patients who have been turned away because they are past the 15-week mark are young or experiencing intimate partner violence.

“We are seeing this restriction have profound and terrible effects for some families in the most desperate of situations,” Tein said.

Tein added it was heartbreaking not to be able to provide care locally for the young incest survivor.

“To not be able to provide that service because of the restriction for a patient in such a terrible and violent situation is horrible,” Tien said. “This patient was sent to another health center in another state … but that is another delay and barrier that that young girl should not need to face.”