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The Solution To Rape Is Stopping Rape by Jacqueline Rettig (member of the Univ. of Cincinnati Students for Life) |
I believe that all babies are living human beings from the time of conception, thus they are entitled to full rights. i believe that no baby deserves to die because of who the father is or what he did. I believe that two wrongs do not make a right; rape does not justify abortion; it only makes the innocent mother guilty. For these reasons, I believe that abortion should not be legal for any reason, even in the case of rape. Unfortunately, abortion -- murder of the innocent -- is legal for any reason in the United States.
Pro-choice, and even some pro-Life activists, think that it is okay for a woman, and especially a young girl, to have an abortion if she is pregnant as a result of rape. They will argue that she is innocent and should not have to bear the financial costs. They will also justify abortion by saying that the baby is the child of a rapist! They will make the excuse that the innocent rape victim should not have her life ruined by a pregnancy that is not her fauly. Finally they will say that the baby will trigger horrible memories of the rape.
It is true that a rape victim is exactly that -- an innocent victim. As such, she should not have to bear the financial costs. According to Lutheran Social Services, however, she does not have to pay a large sum. The said that for women with medical insurance or on welfare, all medical expenses are paid for until the baby is born. For a woman neither on welfare nor with insurance, she must pay only two percent of her annual income (Rockenfelder). So a woman really doesn't have to pay much financially for the nine months of pregnancy. Because of this, the cost of raising a child is not really the problem, and adoption is always an option. Over two million couples are denied adoption every year because there aren't enough babies (She's a Child 8). The adoptive parents take over all costs after the birth. Therefore, financial strains of having and raising a baby cannot justify having an abortion.
In fact, abortion can be much more expensive than giving birth. There is the obvious cost of the actual procedure. There is also the cost of possible counseling in years to come for Post Abortion Syndrom (PAS), which I will discuss in greater detail later. There costs end up being a much greater expense than the actual pregnancy. Perhaps money is not the issue. Maybe abortion is accepted in rape cases because the baby is the son or daughter of a rapist! Does that really matter? Julie Makimaa was conceived by rape. She says, "It doesn't matter how I began. What matters is who I will become" (Reardon 8). Ethel Waters, a famous black gospel singer, was conceived when a white man raped a thirteen-year-old black girl (Manavalan). Last year, a counseler came to my high school to talk about safe sex, abstinence, and sexually transmitted diseases (STD's). She was also conceived by rape. There women are only three examples of children conceived by rape. They are not evil beings; they are the same as every other person. I found the following quote in a pamphlet, and I really think it shows how unfair abortion in rape cases is: "It is cruel irony that while a father cannot receive the death penalty for the crime of rape, his preborn child conceived in that rape can be executed without trial, jury or judge" (American Life League). No one deserves to die for who his or her father is or what he has done. The baby conceived of rape is innocent and deserves a chance to live, so the excuse that the baby is the child of a rapist does not justify abortion.
Despite the fact that the child deserves a chance at life, many people will argue that the mother has the right to control her own life. I agree that the innocent woman was victimized and does not deserve to have her life ruined further by an unwanted child, yet statistics show that abortion is not the answer. Abortion affects women both physically and psychologically. Immediate physical problems from abortion may include "intense pain, punctured uterus, excessive bleeding, infection, parts of the baby left inside, shock/coma, damage to other organs, and death" (She's a Child 11). Later problems may include "inablity to become pregnant again, miscarriage/stillbirths, tubal pregnancies, premature births, pelvic inflammatory disease, hysterectomy, and a two to four times higher risk of developing breast cancer" (She's a Child 11). These side effects are more common than most people would believe, yet very rarely are women warned of these side effects before going through an abortion. The risks involved in abortion are much worse than having a baby conceived of rape, so carrying a baby, even an unwanted baby, to term makes more sense for the mother's health.
On top of the possible effects to her body, a woman may suffer mentally, as the following quote shows: "Ninety percent of women that have had abortions will suffer from Post Abortion Syndrome later in life" (Rockenfelfer). Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS) consists of feelings such as "guilt, the desire to become pregnant again, depression/crying, the inability to forgive yourself, intense grief/sadness, anger/rage, emotional numbness, sexual problems, lowered self-esteem, nightmares, anorexia or other eating disorders, drug or alcohol abuse, and suicidal urges" (She's a Child 11). According to a psychologist, Vincent Rue, Ph.D., "Abortion has a painful aftermath, regardless of the woman's religious beliefs, or how positive she may have felt beforehand about her decision to abort" (She's a Child 11).
Now, instead of statistics and doctors, hear what actual women who have been raped say after having an abortion. Jackie B. and Debbie "N." are two women who became pregnant after they were raped. Both chose abortion. This is what the had to say afterward. Jackie B. says:
 | I soon discovered that the aftermath of the abortion continued a long time after the memory of my rape faded. I felt empty and horrible. Nobody told me about the emptiness and pain I would fell deep within, causing nightmares and deep depressions. The had all told me that after the abortion I would continue on with my life as if nothing had happened... I found that though I could forgive the man who raped me, I couldn't forgive myself for having the abortion. (Abortion Cures) |
| I still feel that I probably couldn't have loved that child conceived of rape, but there are so many people who would have loved that baby dearly. The man who raped me took a few moments of my life, but I took that innocent baby's entire life. (Abortion Cures) |
Rape is an experience that no woman wants to go through. I understand why people might think that to add to those horrifying memories, a baby growing inside of the victim that is a part of that experience might make those horrible memories worse. Despite this, I still don't believe that abortion would make those horrible memories any better. Abortion won't "erase" the memories of rape. During any pregnancy, the baby stimulates the mother's hormones to nurture the baby. When a rape victim chooses abortion, she is greatly influenced by mood swings from the hormone changes and the baby does not yet seem "real" to her, so abortion seems to be a quick and easy fix (American Life League). Later on, however, she will still have those awful memories, and she may regret the decision to abort because she wasn't psychologically competent to make the decision.
As a matter of fact, having the baby can be psychologically beneficial to a rape victim. The new human being insde of her is her own child. This child may be the only good that can come from a rape. The knowledge that she is innocent may someday help her come to terms with her rape and help her to rebuild her life. According to Reardon, "At a subconscuios level, the rape victim feels that if she can get through the pregnancy she will have conquered the rape. Outlasting pregnancy shows she is better than the rapist who brutalized her. Giving birth, then, is the way rape victims seek to reclaim their self-esteem" (8). Carrying the baby to term, whether the woman decides to keep the child or put him or her up for adoption, can be a healing process for her mentally. Reardon goes on to say, "It is a way for them to display their courage and strength to survive even a rape" (8).
In conclusion, I belive that no woman that has been raped should be able to kill her baby. I, fortunately, have not been in that situation, but I know I could not kill a baby growing inside of me for any reason. There is no financial reason, no reason the baby shouldn't live, and no personal excuse that justifies abortion. In fact, it is just the opposite. Evidence only shows that carrying the baby to term is the right thing to do. Reardon says, "To my knowledge, pro-abortionists have never yet brought together a group of rape and incest victims who carried their pregnancies to term who said, 'Oh, that was the worst thing I ever did. Why didn't somebody give me an abortion when I needed it?'" (10). Instead, he says that there are women who chose abortion and now say, "This abortion ruined my life. What were you telling me?" (10).
I hope that even if this essay does not change anyone's opinion on abortion, that it at least makes them think about it. When the facts are known, it is obvious that a woman does not gain anything by aborting her baby, even in rape cases, except perhaps even more pain. So please remember, "The Solution to rape is not abortion. The solution to rape is stopping rape."
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