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78 Rutgers U. L. Rev. Comments. 1 (2025-2026)

handle is hein.journals/rgsusty78 and id is 1 raw text is: VICTIM RESTRICTIONS: INCONSISTENCY IN RAPE VICTIM ABORTION ACCESS Thomas C. Stimson* ABSTRACT Sexual violence is as uncomfortable a topic as it is a prevalent occurrence. Our society treats individuals who become pregnant because of their victimization with a unique pity reserved for only the truly innocent. However, a victim's right to relief from such a crime and their right to reproductive health are now at odds in the post-Dobbs political atmosphere. Beginning in the 1970s, bipartisan support swelled to protect crime victims in what scholars call the Victims'Rights Movement. At the same time, the Supreme Court was developing its view of abortion access as a privacy right. While the Victims'Rights Movement may have left the political zeitgeist, the right to abortion has swirled from a protected privacy right to a moral debate of innocence. This view of guilt and innocence becomes even more complicated when states seemingly abandon the widely popular rape and incest exception for abortion access. Separated by decades of legislation, some states now face a conflict between their professed commitment to the rights of crime victims and the rights of the unborn. In addition to drawing attention to these inconsistencies, this commentary posits that how we choose to address these conflicting rights expands far beyond social injustices furthered by abortion bans. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. IN TR ODU CTION ............................................................................. . 2 II. B A C K G R O U N D .....................................................................................3 A. Roe, Dobbs, and Abortion Restrictions................................3 B . Victim s'R ights M ovem ent .........................................................7 J.D. Candidate 2026, Rutgers Law School. I am grateful to Professor Lee Carpenter for her advice and feedback on this note. Special thanks to Professor Kimberly Mutcherson, whose research inspired this topic, and to my family, friends, and partner for their love and support. 1