Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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A disturbing level of disbelief greeted recent reports of a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim who had to cross state lines into Indiana for an abortion.
The tragic situation first came to light in a July 1 Indianapolis Star story. Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist, told the newspaper that she'd been contacted by a colleague in Ohio about a young patient. The child could not get an abortion in her home state after Ohio's ban on abortions after six weeks took effect following the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in late June.
The story went viral and was met with broad skepticism. A Wall Street Journal editorial called it "an abortion story too good to confirm." A Washington Post's fact-checker downplayed the Star's report as a "one-source story." Charges against a 27-year-old Ohio man, who police said "admitted" to raping the young girl, eventually provided unfortunate confirmation of the truth, however.
This tragic illustration of why broad and unbending abortion bans are wrong shouldn't have strained credulity, particularly in Minnesota. The state Health Department provides an annual report on induced abortions. The data in it is more detailed than in many other state reports.
Even a cursory read clarifies that the young Ohio rape victim's plight is unusual but heartbreakingly plausible. While there's not enough granularity to confirm that the same situation has happened in Minnesota, there is enough to say that it could happen here — and likely already has.
In 2021, a total of 10,136 abortions were reported in Minnesota. Unlike annual reports from many neighboring states, ours explains why patients sought this medical procedure. Rape or incest are uncommon reasons but still happen in numbers that cannot — and should not — be dismissed.
