Leaked GOP Document Says Abortion Could ‘Psychologically Wound’ Victims Of Sex Crimes

A leaked GOP document lays out a plan for House Republicans to defend the Alabama abortion ban by arguing that abortions could “psychologically wound” the victims of sex crimes, according to Vice News. The document also slams the media response to the Alabama ban as excessive and offers a “messaging guidance” to lawmakers who have found defending the extreme law an uphill battle.

Alabama recently passed an anti-abortion bill which would make all kinds of abortions a crime, unless the life of the mother is in danger. The law doesn’t exclude victims of incest and rape, and could lead to a doctor being jailed up to 99 years in prison for performing an abortion. The blanket ban on abortions has led to widespread criticism and protests in Alabama and across the country, but despite the intense media and public scrutiny, a majority of congressional Republicans have refused to condemn the actions of the state.

Now, the leaked document shows how the party is attempting to defend the criticism of the abortion ban. The document, which has been distributed by the Republican Study Committee — a conservative caucus that includes about 70 percent of House Republicans — slams the media response to the abortion ban, arguing that the media is using the ban as a “gotcha moment” to divide Republicans.

It argues that rape and incest victims must not be granted abortions because it is akin to “committing a second violent act,” and calls terminating the pregnancy through abortion a “psychological wound” which would indelibly torment the victim.

“Every single child should be afforded the opportunity to live, regardless of how they were conceived,” it states.

Leaked GOP talking points: Forced birth better than abortion for rape, incest victims https://t.co/UELHvNZGST

— Salon (@Salon) May 25, 2019

The document points out that the best way to defend the anti-abortion law is to counter its most polarizing aspect. Critics argue that by denying victims of sex crimes abortions, the state is forcing them into a perpetual abyss of psychological trauma, but anti-abortion groups led by Students for Life of America argue that the idea of conception is sacred, and therefore any attempt to end conception is criminal. It doesn’t matter how the child is conceived as they believe “that the value of human life is not determined by the circumstances of one’s conception or birth.” Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins even went on NPR to explain that Republican lawmakers have been advised not to shy away from “talking about rape,” because that’s a topic that will invariably come up.

Republicans are keen on legitimizing an anti-abortion stance — even if it’s extreme — because the GOP believes it could lead to an ultimate reversal of Roe vs. Wade following appointments of conservative judges to the Supreme Court.