Forgive Me If This Question Offends Anyone - But During Jim Crow Times If A White Woman Was Raped...

[Hekate]

20. My whole life when it was illegal, there were 3 exceptions:rape, incest, life & health of the mother

That was understood to be right and righteous. See? We’re not heartless. We don’t actually want to kill womenfolk for things they have no control over.

It was hard to prove those things, and beyond reporting rape or incest to the police right on the spot ( ha. ha. ha. ) — and proving it ( ha. ha. ha. ) — well never mind.

“Life and health of the mother” had a bit about the woman’s mental and emotional well-being — basically she had to go before a panel of doctors and prove her case. Physically was probably easier to prove, and presumably her own doc would be on her side as she lay in bed with eclampsia.

Then there was the flip side to the prohibitions and permissions. #1 Daddy or hubby is rich and well-connected. Problem solved. #2 Be Catholic and bear your cross even if you die.

#2 was the reason Protestants didn’t ever trust Catholic hospitals for women.

There ya go.

Nixon, by the way, was a man of his time regarding rape and miscegenation.

One more word: as the red states have gone on their merry way to making abortion a hanging offense, so to speak, one thing that has forcibly struck me is the lack of any exceptions. See? They are truly heartless.

Bitterly,
Hekate