AOC: ‘I’m sure states with abortion bans will prosecute ICE when babies die in their custody’

On February 22, a 24-year-old woman from Honduras went into premature labor while in ICE detention and delivered a stillborn baby. While there’s no direct evidence that ICE was responsible for the death, it’s a statement released by the agency that has some angry, namely feminist author Jessica Valenti.

“A woman went into premature labor while being detained, her baby died, and this is ICE’s response: ‘a stillbirth is not considered an in-custody death,” Valenti tweeted.

“Oh and you can be sure there will be zero outrage from the ‘pro-life’ community,” she added.

The portion of the statement Valenti is referring to states the following:

Although for investigative and reporting purposes, a stillbirth is not considered an in-custody death, ICE and CBP officials are proactively disclosing the details of this tragic event to be transparent with Congress, the media and the public.

Valenti’s tweet was retweeted by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who took an opportunity to highlight what she sees as the ever-present hypocrisy of the pro-life movement, which recently passed some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

“I’m sure EVERY state passing abortion bans will also be prosecuting ICE officials for the deaths of premature babies that happen in their custody?” AOC tweeted. “Right? Since they intend on jailing doctors, surely they’ll jail ICE for the same thing.”

As usual, AOC’s tweet received praise from her supporters, but there was a sizable contingent of people who took issue with how she framed the tragedy, saying it doesn’t present the moral contradiction that she thinks it does.

The Blaze’s Graham Allen tweeted that AOC should “walk to a mirror and say everything you just tweeted out loud to yourself.”

“Trust me, [it] won’t make sense to you either,” he added. “To even remotely try to contrast this horrific incident the same as willfully choosing to murder an unborn baby….is outrageous!”

According to conservative writer Allen Ginzburg, AOC doesn’t have enough evidence to justify her tweet.

“Umm what? I’m sure pro-lifers would agree that the baby who died should be treated like a human being, but don’t you need to determine whether they are responsible for the death before you demand they be prosecuted for it?” he tweeted.

According to ICE’s statement, the woman will be released from custody once she receives medical clearance.

Featured image: screen grab/MSNBC

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.