3 ms·

In most of Europe what happened in this particular case would still have been illegal (although it's fair to ask whether the individual in question would have h

by AlanYx 4y ago

In most of Europe what happened in this particular case would still have been illegal (although it's fair to ask whether the individual in question would have had a legal abortion at an earlier point in time in Europe). The linked article leaves out a lot of relevant contextual details; there's more here: https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/norfolk-mother-and-daughter-accused-of-illegal-abortion-burning-and-burying-body/article_ff99fd49-a710-5ec3-8d51-5aced3001c71.html https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/nor...

spamizbad 4y ago
Would it? There's always been an open question in the US around whether or not you charge mothers who seek illegal abortions vs the doctors. How have European courts typically sentenced women who sought to terminate pregnancies passed the gestational term limits?
- AlanYx 4y ago
  The teenager ("mother") isn't being prosecuted for getting the abortion. She's being charged for concealing or abandoning a dead human body, concealing the death of another person, and false reporting. It's the teenager's own mother who's being charged with the abortion-related offences (performing or attempting an abortion on a pregnancy at more than 20 weeks, and performing an abortion as a non-licensed doctor).
  - Dylan16807 4y ago
    > She's being charged for concealing or abandoning a dead human body, concealing the death of another person, and false reporting. Those crimes don't make sense if they're following an abortion. That looks to me like a flimsy cover for prosecuting getting an abortion.
    - AlanYx 4y ago
      I see that perspective, but the rules around reporting and disposing of bodies have purposes independent of the abortion debate, e.g., to protect the rights of live-born disabled babies from intentional euthanasia. Here, the police laid the first set of three charges before there was any allegation of anything other than miscarriage/stillbirth, so it's hard to argue that the police were trying to punish the teenager for abortion in this particular case.
- munk-a 4y ago
  In the US that question is actually less a legal or moral question and more of a political one. Politicians are generally afraid of the public opinion reaction to punishing mothers (especially if they happen to be 10 year old victims of rape[1]) - that is of course what all of these restriction laws do, they punish mothers, but silently executing an action and announcing that action out loud are two different things. 1. https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/jul/21/could-10-year-old-rape-victim-have-gotten-abortion/ https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/jul/21/could-10-year...

by AlanYx 4y ago

spamizbad 4y ago

Would it? There's always been an open question in the US around whether or not you charge mothers who seek illegal abortions vs the doctors. How have European courts typically sentenced women who sought to terminate pregnancies passed the gestational term limits?

AlanYx 4y ago
The teenager ("mother") isn't being prosecuted for getting the abortion. She's being charged for concealing or abandoning a dead human body, concealing the death of another person, and false reporting. It's the teenager's own mother who's being charged with the abortion-related offences (performing or attempting an abortion on a pregnancy at more than 20 weeks, and performing an abortion as a non-licensed doctor).
- Dylan16807 4y ago
  > She's being charged for concealing or abandoning a dead human body, concealing the death of another person, and false reporting. Those crimes don't make sense if they're following an abortion. That looks to me like a flimsy cover for prosecuting getting an abortion.
  - AlanYx 4y ago
    I see that perspective, but the rules around reporting and disposing of bodies have purposes independent of the abortion debate, e.g., to protect the rights of live-born disabled babies from intentional euthanasia. Here, the police laid the first set of three charges before there was any allegation of anything other than miscarriage/stillbirth, so it's hard to argue that the police were trying to punish the teenager for abortion in this particular case.
munk-a 4y ago
In the US that question is actually less a legal or moral question and more of a political one. Politicians are generally afraid of the public opinion reaction to punishing mothers (especially if they happen to be 10 year old victims of rape[1]) - that is of course what all of these restriction laws do, they punish mothers, but silently executing an action and announcing that action out loud are two different things. 1. https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/jul/21/could-10-year-old-rape-victim-have-gotten-abortion/ https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/jul/21/could-10-year...