I’m not an advocate of abortion past a certain point of development. I don’t condone or support killing a mostly-developed human before its born, under regular circumstances.
BUT, there are exceptions, there has to be. Rape is an exception. Children are an exception. Health and well being is an exception.
These hard-lined, no exception laws written by people trying to get votes are draconian and destructive. There has to be discretion under certain circumstances.
Anyone who throws up their hands and says “the law is the law” is a fucking asshole who can’t think for themselves. It’s a judge’s job to use discretion, they are granted that authority. If a judge forces an 11 year old girl who was raped to give birth, he needs to be fired. And possibly shot.
I get that you are uncomfortable with late term abortion. But please remember this is only about 2% of all abortions. Women do not have abortions at 8 months because they are tired of being pregnant, or have a little headache, or can't fit into prom dresses, all of which were actually said by male legislators. For the most part these were wanted pregnancies, parents chose names, furnished nurseries, then something went horribly wrong. Either a medical crisis for the woman or severe fetal defect, many of which are simply not visible until 3rd trimester. I'm not talking near-sighted or even Down Syndrome. Actual cases include:
Brain growing outside skull
No brain at all
No kidneys or heart valves
A rare condition where internal organs atrophy and die one after another. The woman who testified about this is a conservative Republican evangelical Christian who had attended anti-abortion rallies with her family. She asked if she could carry to term even if the child was stillborn because of her opposition to abortion. She was told fetus had stiffened in transverse position and waiting while it grew larger could kill her. She asked it be treated with respect. She testified she was put under anesthesia and fetal heart stopped; after which it was removed intact. She described how externally the child looked normal, and how she and her husband held her for hours, singing and praying, until she had to return her for burial. This was not a callous woman making a frivolous decision.
Another case the lungs developed normally but then ended. No trachea, no nasopharyngeal opening. No way to breathe.
A woman discovered the fetus lacked enzyme that allows joints to move. The child would be a solid block of bone. Fed through a tube, breathing with a tube, excreting through a tube, never moving, and would die young when heart & lungs grew but ribcage could not expand.
These are just a few examples.
Sometimes rape victims, especially very young ones, can't wrap their heads around what happened, they are in denial, telling themselves they missed periods due to stress, until maybe 6 months when they just have to face they are pregnant from rape. South Carolina is also considering outlawing all abortion. A female Republican legislator who was herself raped called for rape exemption, saying rapists are not fathers. She was derided and is getting threats. In Michigan a Democratic legislator who pleaded for a rape exemption described being raped and pregnant as a teen and having an abortion. Male legislators literally were laughing while she spoke.
Also, anti-abortion laws often delay voluntary abortions. In elective abortions the woman wants to do it as early as possible, but due to clinic closing, may have to travel hundreds of miles. Arrange time off and childcare (the majority of women getting abortions already have at least one child). Then undergo medically unnecessary ultrasounds and pay for them, waiting period, sit through state mandated factually inaccurate anti-abortion "counseling", another waiting period - sometimes they are 4 or 5 months along by the time they finish jumping through hoops.
That was when anti-woman legislators just wanted to make abortion as difficult, painful, and expensive as possible. Now their position is simply "lock her up".
