Would those of you who are pro-life honestly look down on a rape victim who has an abortion?

Question

I am getting sick of hearing about the 'innocent baby', yes babies are innocent, I like babies, I have a child and am pregnant and I have never had an abortion, but to me the point is, the woman was raped. She had a crime committed against her by a horrible violent man, why should she also suffer the trauma of carrying the baby of her abuser and then either having to change her life and all future plans to raise it or have to give it away, which is something she probably never would have wanted to do with a child conceived through consensual s*x. Don't you think that a rape victim has suffered enough? I am not completely pro-choice, because irresponsibility annoys me, but I still would think that the mental and physical health of a grown rape victim would be more important than that of an embryo?

Answer 1

I reported what happened to me, and I don't think I should have the child after what happened. It was hard enough reporting it, going to a line-up to pick the guy out, and then be told they couldn't find him. I couldn't imagine being pregnant because of his original intention - which was robbery.

No, I don't look down on anyone who has an abortion. It's not really any of my business what happened to them, just like no one should tell me what I should have done in my situation.

Answer 2

I don't look down at people, it assumes I am considering my self to be of higher morale or considerately ethical. A child is considered a miracle and a blessing among many cultures. If anything, the child is the silver lining to the abuse because that child could be the next Einstein, Gandhi or Jordan. Life changes whether or not it's yourself, another person or nature that changes not becoming pregnant. It's an assumption to think someone would be better off without another person in their life. Having a child shouldn't be considered extra suffering, other than the few hours pre and post labor.

Answer 3

I don't think abortion is right in that circumstance, but I would certainly never look down on a woman who chose that option. You are right. Her mental health is more important. And having never been in that situation myself, I don't know how I would respond if I were, so I have no right to judge someone else.

Answer 4

No it's quite sad but I would never look down on a rape victim who had to resort to something like that........ However I do look down upon women who make a conscious decision to have unprotected s*x and don't act responsibly. I mean what the h**l you can show and make your appointment for your abortion but you can't carry a condom or take some birth control? Thats just plain recklesness and stupidity.

Answer 5

i am pro choice and i feel that a rape victim should not have the baby if she doesn't want to. and s***w giving it up for adoption. i am 6 months pregnant with a baby i want and it is h**l on me. if i knew being pregnant would be this hard i would never do it. so for someone to have a life changing crime happen to them and then have to go through the pain and suffering of being pregnant and labor while still mentally trying to cope with the fact of being raped is barbaric. this woman will suffer years and years of torment because of being raped, add to that giving birth. it's enough to put a person in a mental institution.

for all of you that don't have compassion for the women, you get raped and see how you handel it.  

Answer 6

Often a child born of a rape victim, doesn't get the same care and affection as a child conceived through planning and love. I don't think it's fair for either the mother or the child to go through with the pregnancy because pro-life people bully the mother to do so.

Sometimes, by forcing the mother to continue with the pregnancy, the child is also made the victim because the mother might heap the shame and guilt of their rape on the kid, the kid might not have a great childhood (i.e. mom does not have spouse for support, mom not financially stable enough to support child).

I don't think any kid should have to live through the fact that their conception caused great pain and suffering for their mother.

And I agree with everything that you've made a point of.  

Answer 7

In the case the rape was severely traumatizing the answer is no; however, in the event she uses it as a last minute excuse you can bet I am. Here let me give you a play by play.

She: "Oh d**n I'm pregnant!"

Me:   "Yeah, that usually happens when you have s*x."

She:  "Yeah, I know that; only I didn't expect to get pregnant.

Me:    "Well, you are."

She:   "No matter I'm going to the clinic tomorrow."

Me:     "Just because you were stupid enough to spread you legs without protection don't go and blame a developing baby."

She: (in the most dramatic voice she can muster) "He raped me!"

As you can tell in that scenario of a conversation she wasn't raped; she was looking for an excuse. Those are the ones when it comes to rape that I'm against. You can usually tell them by the tone of their voice.

Besides; were she raped she wouldn't use it as a last minute excuse.

Answer 8

For 2 years, I worked as a counsellor in an organisation for women, who were facing unwanted pregnancies. Nearly every woman I supported found the decision to terminate the pregnancy very difficult. I'm pro-choice for ANY circumstance that leads to a women's choice to have an abortion. I trust that in the vast majority of cases, women consider all the issues before they come to choose an abortion. Therefore, I wholeheartedly support women who have been raped to terminate the pregnancy.

I think it's important to remember that there are many myths surrounding rape, sexual assault and abortion.

FEW women have more than one abortion, so the argument that women use it for birth control over and over again is just anti-feminist rhetoric to make women look irresponsible.

Here are the stats:

"Data regarding first versus repeat abortion were available for 1127 women. A total of 68.2%, 23.1% and 8.7% of the women were seeking a first, second, or third or subsequent abortion respectively".

The argument that rape rarely accounts for abortion is an argument that anti-feminists use, to imply that women make false accusations of rape.

Here are some stats -

- "In 2003, 38.5 percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to the police.

- Only 36 percent of completed rapes were reported to the police during the years 1992 to 2000. Thirty-four percent of the attempted rapes, and 26 percent of the completed and attempted sexual assaults were reported.

- A recently published eight-year study indicates that when perpetrators of completed rape are current or former husbands or boyfriends, the crimes go unreported to the police 77 percent of the time. When the perpetrators are friends or acquaintances, the rapes go unreported 61 percent of the time. When the perpetrators are strangers, the rapes go unreported 54 percent of the time.

- Between 1995 – 2000, 86 percent of all rapes/sexual assaults committed against college students were not reported to police, compared to 12 percent that were reported"

I've also worked in the area's of rape, and sexual assault. Couple that with my experience counselling women with unwanted pregnancies, I can tell you that much of the information and stereotypes about women, rape and abortion is completely false.

The points you made in this thread were excellent, by the way :)

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/article...

Characteristics of women undergoing repeat induced abortion:

CMAJ. 2005 March 1 p637–641.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ncvrw/2005/...

(Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2004. Criminal Victimization, 2003. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Answer 9

In response to another post, most rapes don't get reported so a much greater number of abortions could be due to rape but the victim didn't report it due to personal shame, being blamed for what happened, or fear of retribution from the attacker.

Answer 10

It depends if you think two wrongs make a right.. though of course some pro-choicers don't even see it as a wrong since they deny the humanity of the embryo. It has all the genetic properties of a human so its a member of humanity even if it isn't yet a person which I still fail to see how that is a prerequisite for any rights.

So I would say I think in self-defence its fine 100% because there's a consensus that you have the right to defend your life even if it means taking the life of another.

Rape is difficult because the circumstances are unique in that the mother never chose to get pregnant so it could be argued that by forcing her to carry a baby to term is denying her autonomy. So it comes down to what you value more and of course as I say can two wrongs make a right.

The embryo in all this is no actor, it just lays there and nature provides the umbilical cord for it to gain sustinence so an analogy like me taking action to deprive you of nutrients doesn't hold since the embryo never took action and couldn't.

Having said all that I wouldnt look down on the woman but I would respect her so much more if she could overlook her own pain and show compassion for the life inside her. Not everyone is that strong and I accept the reality of abortion like I accept the reality of all homicides including self-defence

Answer 11

I'm pro-life. i wouldn't necessarily look down on the woman, but like you said, she could keep from killing the HUMAN BEING and just give him or her up for adoption. She may not have wanted that for her own consensually conceived child, but..she was raped..she could save a life and just give the child to a family that can't concieve.

Answer 12

I am sick and tired of hearing "rape" (which accounts for a tiny proportion of abortions) being  used to justify all abortions.

EDIT: RoVale: most rapes don't get reported? Evidence?

Answer 13

Do two wrongs make a right? Would you look down on a mother who abandoned her child to an attacker so as to avoid personal injury to herself? Would you "look up" to a woman who chose to carry the innocent child to term in spite of the emotional trauma involved, so as to give it a chance at life?

Answer 14

I was conceived by rape. I grew up watching what it did to my mother.  She was and is a good mother, took care of me.  But the pain it caused her...  If I could go back and tell her it was ok to not have me, i would in a heart beat.