Ohio Republicans’ attempted erasure of a 10-year-old rape victim is incredibly sick and disturbed

The first and most important thing to recognize right now is that a heinous, violent crime was committed on a 10-year-old Ohio child, and thankfully justice has now found the alleged perpetrator. The Wall Street Journal Editorial page suggested the story was a “fanciful tale.” The National Review’s Michael Brendan Dougherty referred to the case as “a fictive abortion and a fictive rape.” Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost went on Fox News Monday to raise further doubts. Hamilton County Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou on Twitter called the case, “A garbage lie that a simple Google search confirms is debunked.” State Rep. Brian Stewart tweeted the Washington Post story saying he “wouldn’t trust an abortionist to tell me whether the sky is blue.” Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted, “Another lie. But after the confirmation broke Wednesday, DeWine’s spokesman, Dan Tierney, again refused to comment on whether child rape victims should be forced to carry their pregnancies to term. Yost’s office didn’t respond Wednesday when asked whether he believes child rape victims should be forced to carry pregnancies, nor whether it was important to believe stories about sexual violence.