One year after Dobbs, America’s pro-life movement is in flux

FOR THE first 12 years of her life Audrey Wascome’s grandparents raped her to make child pornography. She dodged pregnancy, but because of scar tissue her bladder no longer works as it should. On May 10th Ms Wascome, now an anti-violence advocate, testified before the Louisiana House’s criminal-justice committee for a bill that would carve out exceptions for rape and incest from the state’s abortion ban. Pro-lifers responded by calling for punishment for rapists rather than “death penalty” for fetuses, and argued that exceptions would make women clamour to put ex-lovers behind bars to “dispense with the inconvenience of giving birth”. Fixing one tragedy with another, they said, does no good. At roll-call the bill died, with lawmakers voting neatly on party lines.