“How can you deny an abortion to a twelve-year-old girl who is the victim of incest?”

Typically, people on both sides of the abortion debate accept the premise that most women who become pregnant through sexual assault want abortions.

From this “fact,” it naturally follows that the reason women want abortions in these cases is because it will help them to put the assault behind them, recover more quickly, and avoid the additional trauma of giving birth to a “rapist’s child.”

But in fact, the welfare of a mother and her child are never at odds, even in sexual assault cases. As the stories of many women confirm, both the mother and the child are helped by preserving life, not by perpetuating violence.

Sadly, however, the testimonies of women who have actually been pregnant through sexual assault are routinely left out of this public debate. Many people, including sexual assault victims who have never been pregnant, may be forming opinions based on their own prejudices and fears rather than the real life experiences of those people who have been in this difficult situation and reality.

For example, it is commonly assumed that rape victims who become pregnant would naturally want abortions. But in the only major study of pregnant rape victims ever done prior to this book, Dr. Sandra Mahkorn found that 75 to 85 percent did not have abortions.

This figure is remarkably similar to the 73 percent birth rate found in our sample of 164 pregnant rape victims. This one finding alone should cause people to pause and reflect on the presumption that abortion is wanted or even best for sexual assault victims.1

Several reasons were given for not aborting. Many women who become pregnant through rape do not believe in abortion, believing it would be a further act of violence perpetrated against their bodies and their children.

Further, many believe that their children’s lives may have some intrinsic meaning or purpose which they do not yet understand. This child was brought into their lives by a horrible, repulsive act. But perhaps God, or fate, will use the child for some greater purpose. Good can come from evil.

The woman may also sense, at least at a subconscious level, that if she can get through the pregnancy she will have conquered the rape. By giving birth, she can reclaim some of her lost self-esteem.

Giving birth, especially when conception was not desired, is a totally selfless act, a generous act, a display of courage, strength, and honor. It is proof that she is better than the rapist.

While he was selfish, she can be generous. While he destroyed, she can nurture.

Adding to the Trauma

Many people assume that abortion will at least help a rape victim put the assault behind her and get on with her life. But the evidence shows that abortion is not some magical surgery which turns back the clock to make a woman “un-pregnant.”

Instead, it is a real life event which is always very stressful and often traumatic. Once we accept that abortion is itself an event with deep ramifications for a woman’s life, then we must look carefully at the special circumstances of the pregnant sexual assault victim. Evidence suggests that abortion doesn't help and only causes further injury to an already bruised psyche.

But before we even get to this issue, we must ask: do most women who become pregnant as a result of sexual assault want to abort?

Continue reading ...

http://www.afterabortion.org/articles/rapebeyondthemyths.htm

Learn more: See the book Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About their Pregnancies, Abortions and Children Resulting From Sexual Assault -- http://www.theunchoice.com/victimsandvictors.htm

Educate others: Download and share our free Hard Cases: New Facts, New Answers fact sheet --

http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/OnePageFactSheets/HardCasesSheet1.pdf

You can also link to our Hard Cases page from your web site, blog or social networking site -- http://www.theunchoice.com/hardcases.htm

[5Apr10, Elliot Institute News, Vol. 9, No. 5, www.AfterAbortion.org ; www.TheUnChoice.com]

Resources to Share With Others

Hard Cases Web Page   http://www.theunchoice.com/hardcases.htm

Hard Cases: New Facts, New Answers fact sheet  

http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/OnePageFactSheets/HardCasesSheet1.pdf 

Pregnancy and After-Abortion Help

Help During Pregnancy   www.pregnancycenters.org  and...
http://www.theunchoice.com/pregnancyhelp.htm

Help For Those Struggling After Abortion  

http://www.theunchoice.com/healing.htm
www.afterabortion.org
www.silentnomoreawareness.org