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Ariana Baio
Jul 13, 2022
Biden To Sign Executive Order Protecting Access to Abortion
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A man in Ohio was charged and arrested for the rape of a 10-year-old girl who was denied an abortion in her home state and sparked national attention. Now, the people who claimed the story was false are backtracking.
Earlier this month, the Indianapolis Star reported a story of the girl who was denied an abortion in Ohio because she was six weeks and three days pregnant after being allegedly raped by a 27-year-old man.
The child was forced to travel to Indiana for an abortion because Ohio's law bans abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected.
President Joe Biden cited the story while addressing the nation last Friday, bringing attention to the the child's horrific experience only for conservatives to deny the story was true.
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Dave Yost, the Ohio Attorney General, went on Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetimeon Monday to claim there was "not a whisper" of evidence regarding the case, casting further doubt.
Following the news of the arraignment of the alleged rapist, Yost tweeted, "My heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child. I am grateful for the diligent work of the Columbus Police Department in securing a confession and getting a rapist off the street."
\u201c@OhioAG Not one apology for questioning the validity of the story?\u201d— Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (@Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost) 1657734018
Ohio Representative Jim Jordan tweeted on Tuesday evening a link an article indicating the story was false adding, "Another lie. Anyone surprised?"
Jordan later deleted the tweet.
\u201cA 10-year-old girl was raped in @Jim_Jordan's home state of Ohio. \n\nJordan publicly called the story a lie.\n\nThen, after the rapist was arrested and confessed, Jordan deleted the tweet without any acknowledgment or apology.\u201d— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1657741893
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board released an op-ed on Tuesday criticizing the lack of evidence to support the original report in the Columbus Dispatch about the 10-year-old seeking an abortion out of state.
"What we seem to have here is a presidential seal of approval on an unlikely story from a biased source that neatly fits the progressive narrative but can’t be confirmed," the op-ed reads. "The abortion debate is intense and passions run high. But the American people deserve better from their President than an unproven story designed to aggravate those passions.
On Wednesday, they added an editor's note clarifying the arrest was made one day after they published their op-ed.
\u201cone reason Republicans tried so hard to deny an obviously true story about a pregnant 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio is because they don\u2019t want voters to realize that abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest force children to carry pregnancies to term.\u201d— \ud83d\udcabpro-whale dad\ud83d\udcab \ud83c\udf3b (@\ud83d\udcabpro-whale dad\ud83d\udcab \ud83c\udf3b) 1657735174
A Columbus Dispatch journalist, Bethany Bruner tweeted she was the only reporter in the courtroom when 27-year-old Gershon Fuentes admitted to raping the girl on at least two occasions.
In addition to sharing the story of the little girl forced to travel for an abortion, President Biden said he signed an executive order protecting access to reproductive healthcare.
The outrage comes just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
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