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Rape, Incest and Abortion:
Searching Beyond the Myths
“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 sexual
assault 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 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 indicates 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?
In our survey of women
who became pregnant as a result of rape or incest, many women who underwent
abortions indicated that they felt pressured or were strongly directed by family
members or health care workers to have abortions. The abortion came about not
because of the woman's desire to abort but as a response to the suggestions or
demands of others. In many cases, resources such as health workers, counselors
and others who are normally there to help women after sexual assault pushed for
abortion. Family pressure, withholding of support and resources that the woman
needed to continue the pregnancy, manipulative an inadequate counseling and
other problems all played a role into pushing women into abortions, even though
abortion was often not what the woman really wanted.
Further, in almost every
case involving incest, it was the girl's parents or the perpetrator who
made the decision and arrangements for the abortion, not the girl herself. None
of these women reported having any input into the decision. Each was simply
expected to comply with the choice of others. In several cases, the abortion was
carried out over the objections of the girl, who clearly told others that wanted
to continue the pregnancy. In a few cases, victim was not even clearly aware
that she was pregnant or that the abortion was being carried out.
"Medical Rape"
Second, although many
people believe that abortion will help a woman resolve the trauma of rape more
quickly, or at least keep her from being reminded of the rape throughout her
pregnancy, many of the women in our survey who had abortions reported that
abortion only added to and accentuated the traumatic feelings associated with
sexual assault.
This is easy to
understand when one considers that many women have described their abortions as
being similar to a rape (and even used the term "medical rape), it is easy to
see that abortion is likely to add a second trauma to the earlier trauma of
sexual assault. Abortion involves
an often painful intrusion into a woman’s sexual organs by a masked stranger who is
invading her body. Once she is on the operating table, she loses control over
her body. Even if she protests and asks the abortionist to stop, chances are she will
be either ignored or told that it's too late to stop the abortion.
For many women
this experiential association between abortion and sexual assault is very
strong. It is especially strong for women who have a prior history of sexual
assault, whether or not the aborted child was conceived during an act of
assault. This is just one reason why women with a history of sexual assault are
likely to experience greater distress during and after an abortion than are
other women.
Research
also shows that women who abort and women who are raped often describe similar
feelings of depression, guilt, lowered self-esteem, violation and resentment of
men. Rather than easing the psychological burdens experienced by those who have
been raped, abortion added to them. Jackie wrote:
I soon discovered that the aftermath
of my abortion continued a long time after the memory of my rape had faded. I
felt empty and horrible. Nobody told me about the pain I would feel deep within
causing nightmares and deep depressions. They had all told me that after the
abortion I could continue my life as if nothing had happened.2
Those encouraging,
pushing or insisting on abortion often do so because they are uncomfortable dealing with sexual assault
victims, or perhaps because they harbor some prejudice against victims whom they
feel “let it happen.” Wiping out the pregnancy is a way of hiding the problem.
It is a “quick and easy” way to avoid dealing with the woman’s true emotional,
social and financial needs. As Kathleen wrote:
I, having lived through rape, and also having raised a child “conceived in
rape,” feel personally assaulted and insulted every time I hear that abortion
should be legal because of rape and incest. I feel that we’re being used by
pro-abortionists to further the abortion issue, even though we’ve not been asked
to tell our side of the story.
Trapping the
Incest Victim
The case against
abortion for incest pregnancies is even stronger. Studies show that incest
victims rarely ever voluntarily agree to abortion. Instead of viewing the
pregnancy as unwanted, the incest victim is more likely to see the pregnancy as
a way out of the incestuous relationship because the birth of her child will
expose the sexual activity. She is also likely to see in her pregnancy the hope
of bearing a child with whom she can establish a truly loving relationship, one
far different than the exploitive relationship in which she has been trapped.
But while the
girl may see her pregnancy as a possible way of release from her situation, it poses a threat to her abuser.
It is also poses a threat to the pathological secrecy which may envelop other
members of the family who are afraid to acknowledge the abuse. Because of this
dual threat, the victim may be coerced or forced into an unwanted abortion by both the
abuser and other family members.
For example,
Edith, a 12-year-old victim of incest impregnated by her stepfather,
writes twenty-five years after the abortion of her child:
Throughout the
years I have been depressed, suicidal, furious, outraged, lonely, and have felt
a sense of loss . . . The abortion which was to “be in my best interest” just
has not been. As far as I can tell, it only ‘saved their reputations,’ ‘solved
their problems,’ and ‘allowed their lives to go merrily on.’ . . . My daughter,
how I miss her so. I miss her regardless of the reason for her conception."
Abortion
businesses who routinely ignore this evidence and neglect to interview minors
presented for abortion for signs of coercion or incest are actually contributing
to the victimization of young girls. Not only are they robbing the victim of her
child, they are concealing a crime, abetting a perpetrator, and handing the
victim back to her abuser so that the exploitation can continue.
For example, the
parents of three teenaged Baltimore girls pleaded guilty to three counts of
first-degree rape and child sexual abuse. The father had repeatedly raped the
three girls over a period of at least nine years, and the rapes were covered up
by at least ten abortions. At least five of the abortions were performed by the
same abortionist at the same clinic.3
Sadly, there is strong
evidence that failing to ask questions about the pregnancy and to report cases
of sexual abuse are widespread at abortion clinics. Undercover investigations by
pro-life groups have found numerous cases in which clinics agreed to cover up
cases of statutory rape or ongoing abuse of minor girls by older men and simply
perform an abortion instead.
In 2002 a judge found a Planned Parenthood
affiliate in Arizona negligent for failing to report a case in which a
13-year-old girl was impregnated and taken for an abortion by her 23-year-old
foster brother. The abortion business did not notify authorities until the girl
returned six months later for a second abortion. A lawsuit alleged that the girl
was subjected to repeated abuse and a second abortion because Planned Parenthood
failed to notify authorities when she had her first abortion. The girl's foster
brother was later imprisoned for abusing her.4
Finally, we must
recognize that children conceived through sexual assault also deserve to have
their voices heard. Rebecca Wasser-Kiessling, who was conceived in a rape, is
rightfully proud of her mother’s courage and generosity and wisely reminds us of
a fundamental truth that transcends biological paternity: “I believe that God
rewarded my birth mother for the suffering she endured, and that I am a gift to
her. The serial rapist is not my creator; God is.”
Similarly, Julie
Makimaa, who works diligently against the perception that abortion is acceptable
or even necessary in cases of sexual assault, proclaims, “It doesn’t matter how
I began. What matters is who I will become.”
That’s a slogan
we can all live with.
~~~
Learn more: See
the book Victims
and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions and Children
Resulting From Sexual Assault.
Educate others: Download and share our free
Hard Cases: New Facts,
New Answers fact sheet.
Citations
1. Mahkorn, "Pregnancy and Sexual Assault," The Psychological Aspects
of Abortion, eds. Mall & Watts, (Washington, D.C., University Publications
of America, 1979) 55-69.
2. David C.
Reardon, Aborted Women, Silent No More (Chicago, IL: Loyola University Press,
1987), 206.
3.
Jean Marbella, "Satisfactory explanations of sex crime
proved elusive," Baltimore Sun, Oct. 31, 1990; M.
Dion Thompson, "GBMC, doctor suspected nothing amiss,"
Baltimore Sun, Oct. 31. 1990; "Family Horror Comes to
Light in Story of Girls Raped by Father," Baltimore Sun,
November 4, 1990; Raymond L. Sanchez, "Mother Sentenced in
Rape Case," Baltimore Sun, Dec. 6, 1990.
4.
"Planned Parenthood Found Negligent in
Reporting Molested Teen's Abortion," Pro-Life Infonet, attributed to
Associated Press; Dec. 26, 2002. |
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