This January, NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson spoke at the NC March For Life in Raleigh. Two years ago, NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson claimed that abortion was like slavery. Last year, we found out Robinson and his then girlfriend chose abortion themselves in 1989. Robinson also said that once a woman is pregnant, “it’s not (her) body anymore.” According to Robinson, it doesn’t matter how she got pregnant, or how old she is – no exceptions for rape, incest, health or age. Forced birth is the real slavery here.
Abortion restrictions are in the hands of state legislatures since last June when the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned almost 50 years of guaranteeing abortion access without excessive government intervention. Some of the worst effects of abortion ban policy have become clear in Texas and other states, forcing girls and women and other pregnant individuals to give birth. Threats associated with abortion bans are forcing doctors and other medical providers in some states to withhold treatment in cases of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and other pregnancy complications. Delay in treatment can lead to sepsis, hysterectomy or even death. This means that women and girls can die while waiting to become sick enough to get care, and doctors can be charged with felonies for trying to save patients too soon.
Remember the case of the 10 year old child who came up pregnant after being raped as a 9 year old? Dobbs triggered a 6 week abortion ban that went into effect right away in Ohio, the child ended up in Indiana to get an abortion. Indiana’s attorney general, another ultra-Conservative politician, continues to harass the doctor who performed the abortion, trying to have her punished. The child’s traumatic situation made headlines nationwide, and the Indiana AG’s pursuit of the doctor keeps the case in the news.
Are Texas and the other states tracking the damage they are causing? Are the states tracking how many children are being forced by the state to have a baby themselves at such young ages? How many women die or become infertile from the trauma forced on them because doctors are afraid to treat them until they are in severe medical distress. How many doctors are quitting due to the emotional distress from being forced to wait while patients get sicker and sicker?
In Robinson’s world – the 10 year old would be forced to carry an embryo/fetus to term when she is a young child herself. As if the rape wasn’t bad enough – then she’ll undergo 9.5 months of massive physical changes. She’ll be marked for life. This is Robinson’s vision for women and girls in North Carolina – patriarchal, short-sighted and cruel.
A Law professor at Northwestern and a federal judge believe that the Constitution’s 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, may protect the federal right to abortion. How perfectly appropriate! Professor Andrew Koppleman wrote in “Abortion and the 13th Amendment”, “Forced pregnancy’s violation of personal liberty is obvious. Restrictions on abortion also violate the [13th] Amendment’s guarantee of equality, because forcing women to be mothers makes them into (what so much tradition defined them as) a servant caste, a group that, by virtue of a status of birth, is held subject to a special duty to serve others and not themselves. (It is also pertinent that abortion restrictions disproportionately burden Black women.)“
Mark Robinson and the Supreme Court have a lot to learn.
Resources:
“Judge suggests abortion might be protected by 13th Amendment despite Supreme Court ruling,” 2/6/23, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-questioned-by-judge.html
“NC Lt. Gov. Robinson speaks at anti-abortion March for Life,” 1/14/23, https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article271165442.html
“AG: Penalize doctor who spoke of Ohio 10-year-old’s abortion,” 11/30/22, https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-health-indianapolis-indiana-e73ecf4f60ed68f1ad1d11db7c223359
“Indiana doctor says she has been harassed for giving an abortion to a 10-year-old,” 7/26/22, https://www.npr.org/2022/07/26/1113577718/indiana-doctor-abortion-ohio-10-year-old
“Because of Texas’ abortion law, her wanted pregnancy became a medical nightmare, 7/26/22, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/07/26/1111280165/because-of-texas-abortion-law-her-wanted-pregnancy-became-a-medical-nightmare
“Analysis: Texas’ new standard is abortions for those who can afford to leave Texas,” 4/18/22, https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/18/texas-abortion-law/
“NC’s Mark Robinson says abortion was ‘hardest decision’ he and his wife have made,” 3/24/22, https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article259721180.html
“Abortion and the 13th Amendment,” 1/30/22, https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/591973-abortion-and-the-13th-amendment/
“Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson: Pregnant women — even victims of rape and incest — lose right to control their bodies,” 6/7/21, https://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2021/06/07/lt-gov-mark-robinson-pregnant-women-even-victims-of-rape-and-incest-lose-right-to-control-their-bodies/
“Abortion and Women of Color: The Bigger Picture,” first published 8/6/08, https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2008/08/abortion-and-women-color-bigger-picture. “In the United States, the abortion rate for black women is almost five times that for white women.”
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North Carolina NOW 