There's No Such Thing As 'Rape And Incest Exceptions' Without Abortion Providers

And other issues.

The root of most, if not all, opposition to abortion is a deep-seated fury over the idea of cis women having sex without consequences. Peel away the layers of any argument about babies or heartbeats and it's there: the big, festering how dare they .

This doesn't apply to men. It really doesn't. Because one of the very things these women are supposed to be facing consequences for is for causing men to "stumble" in the first place, for neglecting their duty to keep men pure. Men can't help themselves, so God and Jesus made sure that women couldn't enjoy sex (shhh!) and would only want to have it for the purposes of procreation. Unless, of course, they were evil. Heck, as soon as it was announced that Roe was overturned there was a very large segment of men desperately crying out with ecstatic joy over the idea that "whores" would finally have to face the consequences for "spreading their legs."

This is the spirit behind the "rape and incest exceptions" that exist in some of the states that are banning abortion. Sure, part of it is that those passing the laws don't want to look like total monsters who would force an 11-year-old to have her father's baby, but a much bigger part of it is that in these cases, the victim did not have sex on purpose and therefore is not, according to the logic of misogyny, in need of the corrective punishment of childbirth.

This is why there is a part of me that internally cringes every time we lower the bar by talking about how an abortion ban doesn't have a rape and incest exception — even though sometimes I understand it is necessary to demonstrate just how Draconian and cruel these policies are. Because it absolutely does reinforce the idea that forced birth is the punishment for those who can get pregnant having sex. The only reason anyone should ever need to have an abortion is that they want one. Period, end of story.

The other ridiculous thing is that most of these "exception" rules require victims to report their rape to the police — which is itself pretty dicey as there are reasons why 80 percent of rapes go unreported in the first place.

According to a report from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) , these reasons are that:

• 20% feared retaliation

• 13% believed the police would not do anything to help

• 13% believed it was a personal matter

• 8% reported to a different official

• 8% believed it was not important enough to report

• 7% did not want to get the perpetrator in trouble

• 2% believed the police could not do anything to help

• 30% gave another reason, or did not cite one reason

It is certainly worth considering the impact these laws will have on those who do report their rapes. If police assume that people are filing false reports in order to be allowed to have a safe and legal abortion, they're probably going to be even more antagonistic to rape victims than they usually are. Studies show that police officers with less than seven years working with rape victims tend to believe that at least 50 percent of them are lying, which very likely accounts for why up to half of all victims say they experienced a "secondary victimization" after reporting their rape to police.

Another thing we are really going to need to point out is that, logistically, these rape and incest exceptions are not going to actually happen. Hell, exceptions for "life of the mother" might not happen. Why? Because there will not be any abortion clinics in these states and those who remain in these states may not be willing to take the chance.

Via Politico:  

One of two providers in Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, [Giovannina] Anthony is grappling with how she might be able to help her patients now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned and the state’s vaguely written abortion ban — which doesn’t specify how a doctor is supposed to determine the validity of a patient’s claims — will soon take effect. Running afoul of the law could mean a 14-year prison term. [...]

Clinics and abortion funds in Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota and Wyoming — four states that have rape or incest exceptions in their abortion bans — told POLITICO that while the law may allow people to terminate their pregnancy in those instances, it will likely be easier to get patients across state lines for an abortion than try to clear the hurdles associated with obtaining one legally in their home state.

“In theory, [exemptions] sound great, but in practicality, it seems impossible,” said Tammi Kromenaker, director of the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, N.D. “There’s no way my doctor would say yes to that. She would just say, ‘Let’s throw all the money and resources at this person. Let’s get them somewhere else where it’s legal.’”

So for all logistical purposes, the "rape and incest exceptions" are bullshit and probably will not help anyone other than the politicians who include them in their bans. If there are no abortion providers, there are no abortions for anyone, including rape and incest victims. They will most likely have to go to another state just like anyone else who wants an abortion.

This is not going to end well.

 Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons .

Wonkette is independent and fully funded by readers like you. Click below to tip us!