Mississippi House Speaker: Abortions for 12-year-old incest victims should be illegal

Speaking to reporters in the wake of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Row v. Wade, Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn was asked if he thinks children who are the victims of incest should be allowed to terminate their pregnancies, to which he replied that his personal beliefs say no.

“What about the case of a 12-year-old girl who was molested by her father or uncle?” Associated Press reporter Emily Wagster Pettus asked Gunn on Friday, June 24.

As the Mississippi Free Press points out, the state’s 15-week abortion ban does not include rape exceptions, but a 2007 Roe v. Wade trigger law would allow rape exceptions early in a pregnancy only if the rape was reported to police.

“No, [the law] does not include an exception for incest,” Gunn said. “I don’t know that that will be changed.”

“Do you think the Legislature should revisit that?” Pettus asked.

“Personally, no. I do not,” Gunn said. “I believe life begins at conceptions. Every life is valuable. And those are my personal beliefs.”

“So that 12-year-old child molested by her family members should carry that pregnancy to term?” Pettus pressed.

“That is my personal belief. I believe life begins at conception,” Gunn said.

Watch the video below:

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.