What Is It About Missouri?

Republican State Senator and candidate for Gov of Missouri said during a debate that he opposes an abortion exception for rape victims of any age because then 1 year-olds would be able to get abortions legally. https://t.co/HhTH58Nhq4

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 12, 2024

Because we can’t protect the children if we’re…going to protect the…children.

I’ve just started reading Derrida’s lectures on the death penalty, from 2000. Among other issues related to the topic, he notes the difficulty of the question of age, starting with why it matters at all, and how arbitrary the application of the question of age as applied to execution.

Even laws like age of majority and of consent are, ultimately, arbitrary; but the idea is to protect children. So we draw a legal line between “child” and “adult” based on age, not date of menarche. And while setting an age (at either end, is part of Derrida’s argument) for execution is ultimately arbitrary, the age for abortion is pretty much set by biology. And while the average onset of menarche has been moving younger, one-year old is still…too young.

I know; a long way of saying this guy is a complete moron. Aside from declaring even under-age rape victims deserve to suffer the full consequences of their victimhood. Next step is putting 5 year olds on the factory floor for the midnight shift, like in the days before child labor laws. Oh, wait, I’m thinking of Arkansas. Well, Missouri shares a border; won’t be long until that idea heads west.