MSNBC’s Scarborough Skeptical Courts Would Penalize a 16-Year-Old Rape Victim for Getting an Abortion

MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough on Wednesday questioned if the court system would really penalize a 16-year-old rape victim in Texas who chose to get an abortion.

Scarborough warned of the “precedent” set by the new Texas abortion law which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. He said it would be “so heinous” if the law were to be enforced on a rape victim.

“Let’s think about this for a second. In one of the largest states in America, a constitutional right that 70% of Americans don’t want overturned — that only 28, 29, 30%, if you have been looking at polls over the past 30 years want overturned — that constitutional right has been taken away in the state of Texas based on procedure. That’s bizarre. It’s dangerous. And the precedent, it’s just god awful,” Scarborough emphasized. “I would love to know what the five justices thought who said, yeah, you know what, we’re just going to take away a constitutional right based on procedure.”

“Does anybody think this will be enforced?” he added. “Does anybody think a vigilante — I mean, and if a vigilante does turn in a 16-year-old girl who’s been raped and is getting an abortion, does anybody really think that the court system in this country is going to penalize a 16-year-old who has been raped, who’s going to get an abortion? I mean, let’s play this out. This is just so heinous. I can’t believe that if it’s actually — if you follow through on this, Willie, or Jonathan or Mika, that they’re going to move forward on it because it will blow up in their faces immediately. That day.”

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