Dear Laura,

I recently heard of your stance on a ten year-old girl who was raped. She fell pregnant because the assault, and went to another state for an abortion.

There are several things that deeply trouble me. Firstly, you refer to the victim as a ‘woman’. She is a child. Physically, emotionally and psychologically, she is a child. You said that a woman’s body is ‘designed to carry life’, but a ten year-old girl’s body is not yet physically capable of doing so. Adolescent girls who fall pregnant are more likely to die from pregnancy and child birth-related complications, which underscores how their bodies are not ready. They are more likely to suffer from other pregnancy-related complications that can cripple them, or make it impossible for them to have children later in life. These are widely-known facts, yet you would prefer to mis-label the victim as an adult, falsely claim she is more danger from an abortion than from the pregnancy itself, and sadly, do not appear to have a great deal of compassion for what she has been through.

My daughter is not much older than the victim in this case. I have no idea if you are a parent Laura, but if you are, would you be able to look your child in the eyes, and tell her that her life is now secondary to the embryo that was forcibly placed within her due to an act of violence? Would you look at your child, and tell her she was ready to become a mother, even though she might still sleep with stuffed animals in her bed and goes to elementary school? Do you truly believe any girl is ready, physically or mentally, for what you plan to put her through?

If you value life, perhaps start with the life of the ten year-old, instead of treating her as a vestible?

Regards,

Ben