A 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped was refused an abortion. The dateline for this article isn’t Iran, Saudi Arabia or 1950’s America. This misogynist nightmare happened in Ohio, the heartland of America, and the child who was six weeks pregnant was forced to travel with her parents to Indiana to obtain an abortion. This is the dystopian reality in post-Roe America.

This will soon be the harsh reality for millions of Americans, half of all states are expected to ban or severely restrict abortion rights.

Christian zealots control the Supreme Court and the Republican Party, and like all religious fundamentalists they view women and girls as nothing more than orifices for male sexual gratification and vessels for giving birth. For them it’s natural for a pre-teen girl to be pregnant, and they believe she shouldn’t be robbed from giving birth, the greatest achievement of any female.

Organized religions have been patriarchal and misogynist since time immemorial. According to historians and biblical scholars Mary was 12-14 years when she gave birth to Jesus, and in evangelical circles it’s not uncommon for males to take very young brides.

Evangelical Christians are the minority in America and it’s an outrage they have such an outsized influence in our secular democracy. A 10-year-old pregnant child shouldn’t be forced to travel to another state for an abortion in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

Let’s make America America again, and vote these undemocratic conservative Republicans out of office. The life of your young daughter may depend on it.