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The US Supreme Court has overturned Wade vs Roe and allowed half of the US States to immediately halt abortions at will. In the most egregious situations State laws enable bounty hunters to sue women who seek abortions as well as anyone who helps them in any way. There is $10,000 on the table for these abortion bounty hunters and free legal costs to pursue their claims.
So what will happen to the hundred/thousands of children who fall pregnant to family abuse ? For example the 9, 10,12 year old girls turning up with child in Texas?
Check out this story for one of darkest consequences of this disastrous decision.
Amid a supply closet filled with clothes and toys, a shelf of "court/coping bags" is a stark reminder of why children and their caregivers wind up at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, which works with the county's most heinous criminal sexual assault cases. The "coping bags" are filled with snacks and quiet distractions to help victims feel as relaxed as possible during courtroom proceedings.(Shelby Tauber / Special Contributor)
By Sharon Grigsby
9:19 AM on Oct 15, 2021 GMT-5
Update: This story has been updated following the June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Dallas County mother sensed something wasn’t right with her young daughter. A trip to the doctor revealed the truth: The 11-year-old was pregnant.
The girl was too young to comprehend her medical condition — or to understand that the terrifying and secretive “game” that her father had inflicted on her for months was rape.
It’s understandable if you feel you can’t bear to read any further, but this 11-year-old and the many others like her deserve our attention now more than ever. The Supreme Court has decided that the right to abortion, upheld for the last almost 50 years, no longer exists.
Related:Abortion gave Texas women a voice. Will ending Roe v. Wade silence us?
Already exploited by their rapists, these children now also suffer the consequences of Texas’ so-called “heartbeat” law, which bans almost all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy even in cases of rape, sexual abuse and incest.
Having suffered the worst possible violence, these girls must carry and deliver their rapist’s child. They’ll endure the physical and emotional trauma involved in pregnancy, birth and a lifetime of ensuing consequences that can be as awful as the initial sexual abuse.
That’s an unjust fate for all women, but today I want to focus on these youngest victims whom most people aren’t even aware of.
In just one recent month, seven pregnant 12-year-olds and their caregivers sought help at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, which handles the most serious criminal sexual abuse cases in the county and where victims first share the atrocities in which they have been trapped.
“You go down and meet with them for the first time and they look every bit 12 years old,” Mindy Jackson, director of support services. told me. “They’re small, young, in a cute little T-shirt and rainbow shoelaces.”
All families dealing with a rape-induced pregnancy “already have an additional bucket of awful they have to work through,” says Katrina Cook, director of clinical services at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.(Shelby Tauber / Special Contributor)
The center doesn’t release overall pregnancy statistics, out of concern of further stigmatizing those it helps. But staff members told me of recent pregnant rape victims as young as 9 years old.
“It’s been the same with a lot of 10-year-olds and even more 11- and 12-year-olds,” said Katrina Cook, director of clinical services.
The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center can’t afford the time or potential fallout to get caught up in political debates. Its job is to support victims and their families from the moment of that first forensic interview with the child until the family’s ”graduation day” from therapy.
But this is also a staff committed to healing children’s trauma by offering as many options and resources as possible — and the new Texas abortion law creates only limitations.
So what will happen to the hundred/thousands of children who fall pregnant to family abuse ? For example the 9, 10,12 year old girls turning up with child in Texas?
Check out this story for one of darkest consequences of this disastrous decision.
The most innocent victims of Texas abortion ban: Children forced to carry their abuser’s baby
“This is never the story these families had written for themselves.” The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center handles the county’s toughest cases.
Amid a supply closet filled with clothes and toys, a shelf of "court/coping bags" is a stark reminder of why children and their caregivers wind up at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, which works with the county's most heinous criminal sexual assault cases. The "coping bags" are filled with snacks and quiet distractions to help victims feel as relaxed as possible during courtroom proceedings.(Shelby Tauber / Special Contributor)
By Sharon Grigsby
9:19 AM on Oct 15, 2021 GMT-5
Update: This story has been updated following the June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Dallas County mother sensed something wasn’t right with her young daughter. A trip to the doctor revealed the truth: The 11-year-old was pregnant.
The girl was too young to comprehend her medical condition — or to understand that the terrifying and secretive “game” that her father had inflicted on her for months was rape.
It’s understandable if you feel you can’t bear to read any further, but this 11-year-old and the many others like her deserve our attention now more than ever. The Supreme Court has decided that the right to abortion, upheld for the last almost 50 years, no longer exists.
Related:Abortion gave Texas women a voice. Will ending Roe v. Wade silence us?
Already exploited by their rapists, these children now also suffer the consequences of Texas’ so-called “heartbeat” law, which bans almost all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy even in cases of rape, sexual abuse and incest.
Having suffered the worst possible violence, these girls must carry and deliver their rapist’s child. They’ll endure the physical and emotional trauma involved in pregnancy, birth and a lifetime of ensuing consequences that can be as awful as the initial sexual abuse.
That’s an unjust fate for all women, but today I want to focus on these youngest victims whom most people aren’t even aware of.
In just one recent month, seven pregnant 12-year-olds and their caregivers sought help at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, which handles the most serious criminal sexual abuse cases in the county and where victims first share the atrocities in which they have been trapped.
“You go down and meet with them for the first time and they look every bit 12 years old,” Mindy Jackson, director of support services. told me. “They’re small, young, in a cute little T-shirt and rainbow shoelaces.”
The center doesn’t release overall pregnancy statistics, out of concern of further stigmatizing those it helps. But staff members told me of recent pregnant rape victims as young as 9 years old.
“It’s been the same with a lot of 10-year-olds and even more 11- and 12-year-olds,” said Katrina Cook, director of clinical services.
The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center can’t afford the time or potential fallout to get caught up in political debates. Its job is to support victims and their families from the moment of that first forensic interview with the child until the family’s ”graduation day” from therapy.
But this is also a staff committed to healing children’s trauma by offering as many options and resources as possible — and the new Texas abortion law creates only limitations.
The most innocent victims of Texas abortion ban: Children forced to carry their abuser’s baby
The Dallas County mother sensed something wasn’t right with her young daughter. A trip to the doctor revealed the truth: The 11-year-old was pregnant. The...
www.dallasnews.com
