I remember just a few years ago (before the Dobbs decision), all the anti-choice politicians would say that they want to outlaw abortions, but with three exceptions: to save the woman’s life, or rape, or incest. And to “prove” they were not anti-woman, there was one other point they’d advocate: only the doctors would be prosecuted for performing an abortion, not the woman who receives the procedure. Now these exceptions are gone and women are prosecuted.

What we have now with this ultra-conservative Supreme Court decision is that even an 11-year-old rape victim has no constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy. A state legislature can make her go to term even if it could permanently injure her. No right to terminate a pregnancy even if it is clear the result will be stillborn or if even the fetus is brain dead in the womb. And we see attorney generals in Ohio and Texas threaten to prosecute women and even indict women for miscarriages.

This is not what the anti-choice politicians who ran on anti-abortion platforms advocated for the 50 years after Roe v. Wade. This is called mission creep in other contexts. I call it creepy theocracy, taking away women’s rights, all for the sake of certain people’s religious beliefs. If you are against abortion, don’t have one.

Richard DeRobertis

Kailua

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