I was struck by an exchange between a mother and her young daughter when I recently spoke with them for a story.
The girl had gone through a monthlong pain-management program, and the mom explained that the hospital's strict rules were challenging for a 10-year-old to follow for such a long time.
"I'm not 10," the girl piped up. She had recently turned 11.
You were 10 at the time, her mother gently reminded her.
That momentary focus on the girl's age immediately brought to mind another 10-year-old whose story has been in the news for weeks: the grade schooler who was raped in Ohio and had to be rushed to Indiana for abortion care because of the ban in her home state.
The 11-year-old in front of me was Lyla McCarty. I had previously written about her parents' struggle to get their insurance company to cover inpatient treatment for Lyla's rare pain condition.
Her indignation of being mistaken for 10 reminded me of just how young and tender this age is. Do you remember when a daughter, granddaughter or niece was 10? My girl probably weighed about 60 pounds at that age. Ten-year-old features still carry the softness of smaller kids. They are still young enough to want to play outside, sleep with a stuffed animal and cry out for their mamas when hurt.
It's hard to fathom how terrified and confused a 10-year-old impregnated by a rapist would be. And then, we have to confront the fact that adults in Ohio, and in several states, have deliberately made that horrific nightmare even worse.
When Lyla was 10 -- suffering, in pain -- I witnessed something incredible happen after her story became public: There was an outpouring of compassion, empathy and a desire to help her. Thousands of people stood in line for hours to donate to her cause, and many more purchased cookies online, ultimately raising more than $300,000 for her treatment.
But when the Ohio 10-year-old's story became public, Republicans called it fake and a lie. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said it was likely a "fabrication." U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a Republican, tweeted: "Another lie. Anyone surprised?" He deleted it after a man was charged in the rape case and reportedly confessed. Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Jesse Watters and Laura Ingraham initially called it a "hoax" and "politically timed disinformation," and claimed Joe Biden's administration was "lying" about it.
After the arrest, they shifted their focus to the rapist's immigration status rather than admit how grossly wrong they had been.
Even The Wall Street Journal described the case as "An abortion story too good to confirm." In fact, it was easily confirmed -- by a reporter who showed up for a public hearing for the accused.
These reactions -- plus the even more shocking ones by so-called pro-life organizations that insisted the raped 10-year-old should have been forced to give birth, regardless of what her body or mind could handle -- made me wonder: What happened to people's compassion and decency?
Why was it so easy for people to empathize with a 10-year-old with a very rare pain condition, but not with a 10-year-old rape victim who needed medical treatment?
When reports revealed that just in Ohio, 52 girls under the age of 15 sought abortions in 2020, Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle tweeted that fact by prefacing it with "only" 52 girls.
"Only" 52? In one state, in one year?
Maybe it's a coping mechanism to downplay the scenarios that expose one's complicity in cruelty.
The very people who claim a moral justification for imposing their religious beliefs on the medical decisions of others were forced to consider the immorality of this position by the circumstances of an innocent, victimized 10-year-old girl.
Lyla got compassion.
A rape victim her age got persecution.