Letters: Buffoons, know-nothings run Ohio. AG traded small child's suffering for face time

Note from Opinion Editor Amelia Robinson: A 27-year-old Columbus man has been charged with raping a 10-year-old girl who traveled to Indiana to get an abortion.

Ohio's so-called heartbeat ban kicked in after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

We asked readers for their thought. Below are a selection of submitted letters to the editor.

MORE  LETTERS HERE: Forcing a 10-year-old to have a baby could end her life in more than one way

More: How to submit guest opinion columns to the Columbus Dispatch

The beast beat Yost

Attorney General Dave Yost made statements on Fox News questioning the validity of a 10-year-old child being raped and pregnant and having to seek help outside of Ohio for pregnancy termination.

He also stated that “we have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs – not a whisper anywhere.” And then, “more likely this is a fabrication.”

Yost used his position status to reassure us that there is nothing to see here.

Why?

I don’t know.

Jack D’Aurora answered my question when he stated, in his column "The ‘inner beast' has taken control of Ohio, America" that “our ego and self-interest are defeating us.”

“Ego leads to what Franciscan priest Richard Rohr calls ‘mouthy certitude,’ conduct marked by over-statement, quick dogmatic conclusions, and a rush to judgment.” D’Aurora continues, “There is much anxiety about being right and concerted effort to convince others how right we are. Examples abound.”

Indeed. I wish Dave Yost hadn’t picked an innocent child on which to practice his “mouthy certitude” and “rush to judgment.”

More: Jack D'Aurora: 'We have met the enemy, and he is us.' America's ego is out of control

Diane Donato, Columbus

Get used to it or vote

Well, is anyone surprised?

This is what we get when Republicans control things. We have a lot of thick-headed people in this state who believe crazy stuff, and most of those people vote for Republican losers like Donald Trump, Dave Yost, Mike DeWine, Jim Jordan, etc.

On and on...  and possibly JD Vance to join the list soon.

More: 'I keep thinking of that child.' Jordan, others preach 'save babies,' but attack girl| Schultz

Get used to it, because if Republicans continue to control Ohio, and (God forbid) take back both the U.S. Congress and White House, then we've only seen the tip of the iceberg.

Make sure you vote in November.

Vote for people who know the difference between reality and fantasy, and between right and wrong. It is a choice we all make - to believe nonsense or use the brains we were born with. God gave people brains for a reason. If a person never bothers to learn how to think, an explanation for that choice will be required at some point.

Tony Panneton, Fresno

What a cruel spectacle

Shame on Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for trading on the suffering of a small child to get some "face time" on Fox News.

All he had to do was abstain from public announcements until doing a bit of investigating on his own.  What a cruel spectacle.

More: Shameful Dave Yost jumped in mud to doubt case of 10-year-old who got abortion | Robinson

Lynda McClanahan, Columbus

Doctors are not villains

Dave Yost's actions — calling into question the validity of the 10-year-old rape victim's claims, as well as the integrity and intention of the physicians who were trying to help this victim (which, by the way, is his job as attorney general) are not only irresponsible and inexcusable, but are also an intentional denial of the horrors women are facing living in a landscape that Yost, himself, helped to create.

More: Do 10-year-olds meet 'life of mother' abortion exemptions? Ohio lawmakers, doctors divided

Furthermore, to claim that the physician in this case had an "axe to grind" when clearly it was Yost who used his platform and authority as a grindstone only highlights the recklessness our state leadership is showing towards this very serious issue.

More: It's Necessary: Yost puts his foot in mouth by doubting case of 10-year-old rape victim

Physicians are not villains, nor are they criminals; and the State of Ohio has now placed them in the impossible position of being held civilly liable for not following the standard of care or being held criminally liable for following it.

When physicians hesitate, women suffer.

When politicians speak with intent to mislead, legislate without the input of experts, and ignore reality, we all suffer.

Dr. Jason Melillo, Powell

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We are talking about a 10-year-old girl

I am beyond disgusted at Dave Yost and his cohorts.

Facts: a 10-year-old little girl was allegedly raped by a 27-year-old man. She was impregnated.

More: Police accounts kept changing on Uvalde. A girl's rape story was called a lie. We reported truth.

She was forced to travel to Indiana where a compassionate doctor performed an abortion and complied with the rule to report such within three days to the authorities — thanks to the archaic rulings of the Supreme Court of this country and the mealy-mouthed so-called concerned politicians in Ohio.

A 10-year-old little girl.

Kathleen Rosati, Westerville 

Buffoons, idiots, 'stupids' and know-nothings destroying Ohio

I was born and raised in Ohio, a a nice place to in which to grow up —then.

I do not intend ever to return because of the way it is now, run by buffoons and idiots, 'stupids' and know-nothings.

More: Capitol Insider: Jim Jordan deletes tweet calling rape story of 10-year-old 'Another lie'

That someone like this  Dave Yost could ever be elected to any office shows the depravity and idiocy the state has fallen into.

I shall never return.

Ohio women, come to Maryland. Women are treated like equal citizens here.

Virginia Nuta, Montgomery Village, Maryland

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: What are Ohioans saying about 10-year-old rape victim, Jim Jordan?