Opinion: A Trump appointee’s disturbing attempt to prevent an underage rape victim from getting an abortion
To the editor: We are all in trouble if the Trump administration thinks it has the power to force a pregnant underage rape victim to stay pregnant and deliver the baby. (“Trump official sought to block abortion for a 17-year-old rape victim,” Dec. 21)
E. Scott Lloyd, who heads the refugee resettlement program, actually said about a pregnant migrant detainee: “Here there is no medical reason for abortion. It will not undo or erase the memory of the violence committed against her, and it may traumatize her. I conclude it is not in her best interest.”
How much better does he think the girl would fare by carrying the baby to full term, enduring an agonizing birth, and either giving up the baby or keeping it as a lifelong reminder of her rape experience? She is punished for being raped, punished for being impregnated, punished by the pain of giving birth, and punished by either giving up or keeping the baby.
Should the government have the right to impose these additional horrors on this teenage victim of rape?
Joyce Stacy, Long Beach
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