A man recently received a life sentence for raping a nine year-old Ohio girl, and pro-life advocates are pointing out that a Democrat-backed ballot measure could help future attackers get away with such horrible crimes.
Twenty-eight year-old Gerson Fuentes confessed to two counts of rape after law enforcement performed a paternity test on the remains of the child his minor victim conceived. The baby died in an abortion.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio is backing an amendment in Ohio that cuts uncomfortably close to that horrific story. The amendment states that “every individual,” including every minor child, “has the right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions.” If passed, amendment would ban informing parents ahead of the abortion of a baby conceived as a result of their child being raped.
“This amendment proposed by the ACLU will protect negligent abortion providers while continuing to endanger victimized young girls and they will have no legal recourse,” said Logan Church, CatholicVote’s Ohio political director. “By removing the requirement to include parents in significant health decisions, such as abortions, we are leaving our children vulnerable.”
Fuentes’ indictment says he reportedly assaulted the girl “on or about” January 1 and May 12, 2022. The case became public after the doctor who performed the abortion, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, spoke with an Indiana news outlet about the girl’s case in an effort to portray Ohio’s pro-life laws as draconian. Bernard pointed out that the abortion had to take place in Indiana due to Ohio’s legal protections for the unborn.
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But laws enforcing parental notification in cases of minor pregnancy would make it possible to catch predators like Fuentes.
“This tragic case tugs at my heart, but the solution is not to create a more friendly state for predators,” said Church:
If this amendment is passed in November, we will be creating an environment that allows this disgusting abuse to continue in silence. Ohio families deserve better. Our daughters deserve better.
After the girl’s story received national attention, Bernard was charged with violating HIPAA patient privacy laws by using the girl’s case for pro-abortion advocacy in the media and potential child abuse. Bernard was eventually fined $3,000 for speaking with a news reporter about the case, but was not barred from medical practice.
LifeNews Note: Madalaine Elhabbal writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
