Alabama is slated to sign the strictest abortion ban in the nation into law. It would ban any and all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest, with the sole exception of when an abortion is needed to save the mother’s life.
The ban is essentially bait for a Supreme Court battle aimed at dismantling Roe v. Wade. While the gambit may prove noble in the long run, the sheer starkness of the bill highlights a glaring moral void in the pro-life movement: respect not just for the lives of the unborn but the dignity of rape victims.
Pro-choice advocates often point towards pregnant rape victims as a reason to oppose abortion restrictions. Considering that rape victims comprise just 1% of all women who obtain abortions, and the fact that most abortion restriction legislation doesn’t apply to rape victims, this argument is usually made in bad faith as an attempt to blow up a straw man and ignore the vast majority of abortions that are performed annually for elective purposes.
The Alabama law is unusual in that it does not provide for a rape exception. Exacerbating the issue, Alabama severely restricts access to emergency contraception.
There are three main types of emergency contraception pills available today. They contain the same hormones and have the same effect of as regular contraception, preventing ovulation. Although ovulation occurs only monthly, sperm can survive in a woman’s body for several days. The delay or disruption of regular ovulation can prevent fertilization, which can occur as late as five days after sexual intercourse.
There is compelling evidence that emergency contraceptives have no effect once ovulation has occurred — which is to say, study data suggests they are not abortifacient, i.e. they will not terminate a pregnancy even before implantation of a fertilized egg. Progestin-only pills are available over-the-counter but only work within 72 hours of a sexual encounter. The other two emergency contraception formulas, which work for up to 120 hours after a sexual encounter, require a physician or nurse practitioner’s prescription in Alabama. This means that women seeking to prevent a pregnancy after a rape in Alabama must either pay out of pocket or seek a physician immediately.
Another aggravating factor: Alabama’s other sexual assault protocols don’t protect victims enough. Unlike in other states, like California and Utah, emergency rooms in Alabama are not required to dispense emergency contraception to rape victims. Unlike South Carolina, they are not required to dispense it upon request, and unlike Texas and Arkansas, they are not even required to provide information about it.
Pro-lifers have the arguments to convince people that children conceived in rape deserve to live. But they also owe it to rape victims to help them avoid such a pregnancy in the first place, if possible. From allowing pharmacists to prescribe emergency contraception to mandating emergency room access to it, there are a number of ways pro-life proponents in Alabama can show support for the agency of rape victims while also supporting the right to life of the unborn.
