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Columbus, OH —  Mere hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Dave Yost rushed to implement Ohio’s extreme six-week abortion ban, one of the most extreme anti-abortion laws in the country. Days later, he went on national TV to do two things: 1. question the story of a 10-year-old rape victim that turned out to be true and 2. assert without a doubt that even if the story were true, the victim could have gotten an abortion in Ohio.

Now legal experts, doctors and even Ohio’s own Legislative Service Commission (which helps state lawmakers draft laws) have weighed in on that assertion and only one thing is crystal clear: Dave Yost has been wrong about a lot of things this week, and that likely includes the law he helped put into place.

Read more below:

Washington Post: What Ohio abortion law says about a 10-year-old rape victim

Aaron Blake

“The conservative effort to cast a story about a pregnant 10-year-old Ohio rape victim as a hoax has now fallen apart, with confirmation of the case arriving Wednesday. While some merely noted the initial report hadn’t been confirmed, several conservative media figures and Republican politicians went significantly further in casting it as a dirty trick meant to make the GOP’s post-Roe v. Wade laws look bad; high on that list was Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R).

“But as attention now turns to the reality of the case and what it means, something else Yost claimed Monday on Fox News looms large: that the girl didn’t actually have to leave Ohio to seek the abortion in Indiana, as she reportedly did.

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“Yost’s appeared to be arguing that Ohio’s law — which bans almost all abortions after a heartbeat can be detected, usually around six weeks — isn’t actually so stringent that it would actually force a 10-year-old rape victim to carry a child to term.

“Yost’s meaning wasn’t entirely clear. Some took his comment as claiming Ohio has a rape exception in its abortion ban; it clearly and unambiguously does not. The applicable law allows abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

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“Indeed, the nonpartisan Ohio Legislative Service Commission has reportedly determined that such circumstances don’t automatically qualify for an exception. Chris Geidner shared a letter that Yost’s 2022 Democratic opponent received from an analyst from the commission, Amy Archer. Archer in the letter addresses whether ‘minor victims of sexual assault are able to receive abortions within Ohio after six weeks gestation.’

“‘No,’ she reportedly said, ‘Ohio’s abortion prohibition applies regardless of the circumstances of conception or the age of the mother.’

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“Yost on Thursday afternoon shared a backgrounder that explained Ohio’s abortion exceptions and gestured toward the second exception. But his office has yet to directly explain how it applies to a 10-year-old rape victim.”

Ohio Capital Journal: Docs dispute AG’s claim that Ohio law allows 10-year-olds to get abortions

Marty Schladen

“A defiant Dave Yost on Wednesday told News 5 in Cleveland “I never apologize for speaking the truth” when asked if he should apologize for an interview he did on Fox News a night earlier.

“Less than 24 hours later, Yost’s doubts were proven to be unfounded when The Columbus Dispatch reported that a 27-year-old man had been arrested on charges of raping the child. But in addition to expressing unfounded doubts, Yost appears to have made at least two serious factual errors in that three-minute Fox interview.

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“Yost also claimed that if a 10-year-old gets pregnant in Ohio, she can still get an abortion under exceptions regarding the health of the mother.

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“[T]wo Ohio OB-GYNs — doctors who are required to follow the new law — disputed that analysis on Thursday. The dispute appears to hinge on who knows more about the risks of pregnancy — Yost, or doctors who care for pregnant patients.

“One instance under which the law says abortions are allowed after six weeks is if there’s a ‘medically diagnosed condition that so complicates the pregnancy of the woman as to directly or indirectly cause the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.’

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“The other exception is if there’s a medically diagnosed condition that can ‘cause the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.’

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“The youngest mothers are at higher risk for early births, restricted fetal growth, and a condition known as preeclampsia. They’re also at higher risk for postpartum depression — although the Ohio law expressly says it “does not include (an exception for) a condition related to the woman’s mental health.”

Columbus Dispatch: Do 10-year-olds meet ‘life of mother’ abortion exemptions? Ohio lawmakers, doctors divided

Anna Staver & Haley BeMiller

“A 10-year-old Ohio girl who crossed state lines for an abortion has raised a lot of questions, including whether she qualified for a legal exemption to prevent irreversible injury or death. 

“Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News that, in his legal opinion, ‘she did not have to leave Ohio to find treatment’ because her age puts her at greater risk.

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“Republicans who control the state Legislature didn’t include exemptions for rape or incest. But an abortion after six weeks could be legal if it prevented ‘the death of a pregnant woman’ or ‘a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function,’ according to a non-partisan analysis by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

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“The law provides no path to abortion care for those experiencing mental health challenges. Nor does it provide one for minor victims of sexual assault who are more than six weeks pregnant, according to an LSC email obtained by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau.

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“[Rep. Beth] Liston is a pediatrician who worked at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and now teaches clinical internal medicine and pediatrics. She said children younger than 15 have increased risks for potentially life-threatening pregnancy complications, but that doesn’t mean those conditions will develop. 

“‘Exemptions for the life of the woman in Ohio are grey, and the law is authored by people without medical knowledge to consider all of the situations which can occur in pregnancy,’ Liston said. 

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“That uncertainty highlights a key criticism of Ohio’s six-week abortion ban: Doctors are no longer sure what they can legally do in the exam room.

“Opponents say this creates fear that could cause providers to second-guess decisions or err too far on the side of caution.

“‘It leaves a lot of room for interpretation,’ said Dr. Jason Sayat, an obstetrician–gynecologist in Columbus. ‘These restrictions that have been put into place by lawmakers who really have not looked at medical, evidence-based practice that we apply in the real world…that makes it difficult for us not to be cautious or limiting.’

Dr. Catherine Romanos, a family physician who provides abortions at Women’s Med Center near Dayton, said she would likely tell a 10-year-old who had been raped that it’s unsafe to carry the pregnancy.

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“But an attorney for National Right to Life told Politico the girl should have attempted to carry to term. And the model legislation they’re offering conservative state legislatures wouldn’t grant her one either. 

‘She would have had the baby,’ Jim Bopp told Politico. ‘And as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child.’

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Vance: “The Political Obstacles Intimidate More Than The Practical Problems.”

Columbus, OH – J.D. Vance has already been caught calling to cut Medicare and Social Security. Now, a new HuffPost report shows the out-of-touch Big Tech financier (pronounced FINN-ANCE-EER as he would) scrambling to rewrite his record and distance himself from his “politically difficult” and wildly unpopular position as he campaigns for U.S. Senate.

According to HuffPost, Vance said, “the political obstacles intimidate more than the practical problems” for efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare. But for Vance the solution – despite the political obstacles of gutting hard-earned benefits for people who have been paying into Social Security and Medicare for decades – remained the same in 2011, when he said, “The way forward is as obvious as it is politically difficult: streamline the tax code, reform current entitlements and avoid enacting new ones.”

Vance also praised Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, which would turn Medicare into a voucher program, transform Medicaid into a block grant program, and repeal the Affordable Care Act, which could kick nearly a million Ohioans off their health insurance and threaten coverage for  two million Ohioans with a pre-existing condition.

Now that Vance is a candidate for U.S. Senate, he’s trying to cover up his past support for slashing Ohioans’ hard-earned benefits. Vance’s latest flip-flop adds to a long-list of issues where Vance has changed his position for political expediency. Here are just a few: Trump, antisemitism, racism, gun violence prevention, being a member of the elite, defending members of the elite, trade deals, Big Tech and white privilege.

“Ohioans know the real J.D. Vance: the Silicon Valley millionaire who ditched the Buckeye State as soon as he could, made millions working for Big Tech, and fantasized about cutting Social Security and Medicare. Vance is a phony and a fraud who will say anything to further his political ambitions and would all too gladly flip-flop-flip his way back to slash your hard-earned retirement benefits,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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“Mike DeWine, Dave Yost, Jim Jordan and other Ohio Republicans are disgusting and disgraceful; callous, careless and cruel”

Columbus, OH — Mere hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Dave Yost rushed as fast as he could to implement Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, one of the most extreme in the country with no exceptions for rape or incest. Then days later, after news broke of a terrible tragedy involving the rape of a 10-year-old girl who was forced to leave the state to get an abortion because of the abortion ban, Yost’s response was to question her story. Now, after the story was confirmed and the perpetrator has been arrested, Yost refuses to apologize and is only doubling down on his support for a law that punishes women and girls and prevents them from getting the healthcare they need, even under the most tragic of circumstances.

“Dave Yost’s depravity knows no bounds. He couldn’t wait to implement a law that would prevent women and girls from getting critical reproductive care and then when that law further victimized a 10-year-old rape victim, he rushed to national tv to question her story. Yost should be ashamed of himself, but clearly he has no shame,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

See more coverage below of Yost’s callous response to a horrific tragedy:

Ohio Capital Journal Commentary: Ohio Republicans’ Attempted Erasure Of A 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Is Incredibly Sick and Disturbed 

David DeWitt

“Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost went on Fox News Monday to raise further doubts. He said he works closely with law enforcement authorities and he’d gotten “not a whisper” about the case.

“It’s incredibly disturbing that the default position of so many sick and twisted people — including Ohio’s most prominent Republican elected officials — is to very vocally and very publicly question whether the rape and impregnation of a 10-year-old child ever happened.

“Yost offered no correction, no apology, and showed no contrition for going on national television to try to erase the lived experience of a child rape victim.

“DeWine, Yost, and other Ohio Republicans hurt a traumatized child once by forcing her to flee the state in order to receive health care; then they hurt her again by peddling propaganda erasing her; now they’re hurting her a third time by refusing to acknowledge and apologize for their actions.

“These powerful Ohio Republican politicians have thoroughly and completely shed themselves of any sense of shame or conscience. They’re disgusting and disgraceful; callous, careless and cruel.”

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio AG Dave Yost cast doubt on 10-year-old rape victim case, now ‘rejoices’ at arrest

Laura Bischoff

“Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost appeared on Fox News this week, casting doubt on the veracity of Dr. Caitlin Bernard’s account that a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim needed to travel to Indiana for an abortion.

“Yost, a Republican, doubled down on that in an interview with the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday.

‘Every day that goes by the more likely that this is a fabrication. I know the cops and prosecutors in this state. There’s not one of them that wouldn’t be turning over every rock, looking for this guy and they would have charged him,’ he said. ‘I’m not saying it could not have happened. What I’m saying to you is there is not a damn scintilla of evidence. And shame on the Indianapolis paper that ran this thing on a single source who has an obvious axe to grind.’

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“The same day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Yost went to federal court to lift a stay on an Ohio law that bans abortion once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, usually about six weeks into a pregnancy.

“Democrat Jeff Crossman, Yost’s opponent in the AG’s race, said the attorney general misrepresented the law and that the exceptions are so narrowly tailored that doctors will be reluctant to risk a felony charge and losing their medical licenses. ‘He doesn’t care about the facts.’

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Washington Post Opinion: A 10-year-old rape victim’s plight shows why politicians should stay out of abortion

Jennifer Rubin

“The shame was his. After the alleged rapist was arrested on Tuesday, I reached out to Yost’s office to see if he would apologize for his comments. He did not respond.

“As a preliminary matter, it is grossly inappropriate — and arguably a violation of prosecutors’ code of ethics — to publicly (and with zero basis) demean a victim’s account. The American Bar Association rules state: ‘The prosecutor should not make, cause to be made, or authorize or condone the making of, a public statement that the prosecutor knows or reasonably should know will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing a criminal proceeding or heightening public condemnation of the accused.’

“In the case of sexual violence, Yost’s conduct is especially egregious given the aversion that many victims already feel about going to law enforcement. And in the case of a child, it is nothing short of barbaric. Yost’s remarks could encourage abusers to tell their victims, ‘No one’s going to believe you.’

“The entire episode should underscore the forced-birth cohort’s monstrous dehumanization of women. They do not trust women, their families, doctors or clergy to make decisions that involve serious risks of mental and emotional harm. These politicians would deny women and girls the autonomy to make life decisions that will have life-changing consequences for them and their families. 

“If there were ever an advertisement against allowing politicians to override intimate health decisions of women and girls, this is it.”

Cleveland.com: Arrest prompts criticism of Republicans like AG Dave Yost who questioned story of 10-year-old rape victim who left Ohio to get an abortion

Sabrina Eaton

“On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost publicly questioned the existence of a 10-year-old rape victim who had left the state for an abortion. Yost, a former journalist, told FoxNews his office hadn’t heard ‘a whisper, anywhere’ about the case from prosecutors and police in Ohio, and the state’s crime lab hadn’t been called upon to analyze evidence.

“Yost took a different tack Wednesday after police announced the arrest of a 27-year-old Columbus man accused of impregnating the girl whose case became the focus of national interest as states, including Ohio, impose stringent abortion restrictions in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows them to do so.

“[T]he Democratic Party’s candidate for attorney general, State Rep. Jeff Crossman of Parma, issued a statement that said Yost should be ‘ashamed – not only for calling a 10-year-old rape victim a liar but for helping to create the circumstances that prevented her from getting the critical healthcare she needed in the first place.’”

WBNS-TV: Columbus man charged in rape of 10-year-old girl who traveled to Indiana for abortion

Lindsay Mills

“After the victim’s story appeared in The Indianapolis Star, many questioned its legitimacy including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

“During an appearance on Fox News, Yost said the story was being used as a political weapon and the victim could have had an abortion in Ohio.

“In response to Yost’s comments, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters said there is no exception for rape or incest under the new law.

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“Yost does not believe he casted doubt too early when the investigation was not yet complete.”

Columbus Dispatch Opinion: Shameful Dave Yost jumped in mud to doubt case of 10-year-old who got abortion

Amelia Robinson

“Yet as unsubstantiated doubts from unconvinced pro-lifers and media-hating political camps swirled on social media and broadcast news, Yost appeared on FOX News to proclaim that there was not “a whisper anywhere” of a 10-year-old Ohio girl that a doctor told a journalist was taken to Indiana for an abortion.

“[Yost] doubled down when interviewed by the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday, saying it looked more and more like a fabricated story with every day that passed. 

“Turns out that it is really shame on Dave Yost. He clearly does not “know the cops and prosecutors in this state” as well as he thinks he does. 

…

“One can only speculate why Yost — armed with clearly inaccurate information — jumped in the mud with political hacks, fame-seeking trolls and Fox ‘news’ fakers casting doubt on a case that has always been in the regime of possibility.

“There is nothing wrong with questioning the media — it is to be expected — but have your facts right before you do — particularly if you are Ohio’s top prosecutor and know intimately how complex and vile child sex abuse cases are.   

“Dave Yost should be above backstroking in the sickening layer of mud far too many willingly create.” 

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Intel CEO: “We’ve Made Super Clear To McConnell, To The Democrats, To The Republicans, That If This Doesn’t Pass, I Will Change My Plans.”

Columbus, OH – Intel’s CEO implored Mitch McConnell to stop blocking Ohio jobs and pass the CHIPS Act – but Mike DeWine and J.D. Vance can’t lift a finger to stand up to McConnell and create 3,000 jobs in Licking County.

In an interview with the Washington Post yesterday, Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger pleaded for Congress to pass CHIPS – and called out McConnell by name for blocking 3,000 Ohio jobs. He said, “We’ve made super clear to McConnell, to the Democrats, to the Republicans, that if this doesn’t pass, I will change my plans. The Europeans have moved forward very aggressively and they’re ready to give us the incentives that allow us to move forward, without limitations, putting Euros in our bank.”

That message should be a wake-up call to Mike DeWine and J.D. Vance – if they cared about putting Ohio jobs first. Instead, Mike DeWine is campaigning on the Intel project, but refuses to take on McConnell for standing in the way of its groundbreaking. And J.D. Vance blamed “do-nothing leadership” and a “leftist wishlist,” while refusing to mention McConnell by name after he single-handedly blew up bipartisan negotiations in order to prevent Democrats from lowering prescription drug costs for working families.

It’s a new tune for J.D. Vance who spent the GOP primary bragging about how he was the only candidate who would criticize McConnell when it suited him. Now that Vance needs McConnell’s deep-pocketed allies, he is silent as McConnell threatens 3,000 Ohio jobs.

“Instead of treating Mitch McConnell threatening 3,000 Ohio jobs like the emergency it is, J.D. Vance and Mike DeWine have done nothing to stand up to McConnell since it isn’t an easy photo op for them. If Intel scraps its plans and sets up shop overseas as a result of Mitch McConnell’s hostage-taking, the blame will lay squarely at the feet of cowards like Mike DeWine and J.D. Vance who have covered for McConnell at the expense of Ohio workers,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH – According to a new report from Axios, J.D. Vance refuses to stand up to Mitch McConnell for blocking urgently-needed legislation to invest in American semiconductor manufacturing – including vital funding for Intel to create 3,000 jobs in Licking County.

Instead, Vance blamed “do-nothing leadership” and a “leftist wishlist,” deflecting responsibility from McConnell after he blew up bipartisan negotiations in order to prevent Democrats from lowering prescription drug costs for working families.

Vance’s refusal to confront McConnell by name comes after he bragged about criticizing the Senate Minority Leader when it suited him in a crowded Republican primary. Here’s what Vance and his allies said then about McConnell:

• Last year, Vance said, “I think McConnell has shown at times that he’s a little out of touch with the base … I think that it’s time that we moved beyond the very old leadership class that’s dominated the Republican Party for a long time. We’ve got to do it. We’ve got to bring some new blood in. We’ve got to get people the base is really excited about.”
• In January 2022, Bannon (at the 23 minute and 48 second mark) asked Vance if he would vote for McConnell, and Vance responded, “I’ve been the only person in the Ohio Senate race who’s actually been willing to criticize leadership–and I just did–and I will continue to criticize leadership when I think that they’re wrong.”
• When introducing Vance at a campaign event on April 30 in Newark, Ohio, Marjorie Taylor Greene said to applause (at around the 12-minute and 30 second mark), “He’s [Vance] someone I know who will go into the Senate and won’t hand his voting card over to Mitch McConnell.”
• Vance’s allies at his super PAC went after Josh Mandel for being two-faced on Mitch McConnell. Ryan Girdusky, who worked at Protect Ohio Values, tweeted in a thread that Mandel was a “fraud” because “as he publicly mimicked Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, Mandel would privately reach out to McConnell’s top lieutenants to alert them each time one of his top rivals, J.D. Vance, criticized Washington Republicans — effectively trying to have it both ways.”

But now that Vance needs McConnell’s deep-pocketed allies, he’s been hobnobbing in D.C. at an NRSC retreat and conveniently has nothing to say about McConnell’s obstruction of 3,000 new jobs in Ohio.

“When it was politically convenient, J.D. Vance went after Mitch McConnell – but now that he needs McConnell’s corporate special interest money, Vance can’t bother to stand up to McConnell as he holds 3,000 Ohio jobs hostage. J.D. Vance is a complete phony who will do or say anything to get elected,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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