What they Say.
“What if your daughter was raped? Wouldn’t you want her to have access to a legal abortion?”
“Abortion is a compassionate response to a person who was raped, isn’t it?”
“Even though I’m pro-life, I can’t support laws that prohibit abortion completely, especially in the case or rape.”
I have been asked this question about rape far more frequently in recent days. It sounds like a tough question at first. It challenges us emotionally and biblically. As we enter the final months of the presidential race, abortion is a central and polarizing issue. No doubt you will hear a lot about “women’s health,” “reproductive freedom,” and various views on "exceptions" or “bans” when abortion is discussed. You’ll hear that your values about abortion must be yielded to make room for those “without access,” or those facing rape or other tough situations. Sadly, even “pro-life” people will be convinced that they will somehow feel better knowing that the "hard cases" will be met with the "compassionate" remedy of abortion. And worst of all, many have allowed these rare exceptions to accept abortion at every stage. Many of our politicians have allowed the question of rape to silence their voices and avoid the argument altogether.
While we need to address these emotional issues, we should resist the acceptance of an extreme abortion agenda based on the very rare cases of pregnancy due to rape.
How You Should Answer.
Start with well-placed compassion (not statistics).
Rape and incest are both criminal acts that deeply impact victims for the rest of their lives. No one should ever minimize the trauma, shame and pain women endure due to rape. This is a woman who has been victimized, wounded, and is deeply betrayed and scarred. She is an innocent victim, and this knowledge may someday help her come to terms with the rape and rebuild her life. She needs therapeutic care, a loving supportive network, and in some cases medical or mental health interventions.
Providing life-affirming medical and emotional care that addresses trauma can meet these needs, and that's why our Women's Choice Network clinics exist.
Rape is an act of violence. In our system of justice, we punish the criminal. We do not punish the victim, nor do we punish the criminal's children. The trauma of sexual assault is very real. But why compound such severe trauma with the additional trauma of abortion? Abortion is a second act of violence that a mother inflicts on her own child. Her abortion decision may haunt her long after she has dealt with the rape. Women - even those who were victims of sexual assault - have reported years of physical, emotional and psychological difficulty following their abortions. Abortion did not solve their problems; it merely created additional ones.
In order to be truly compassionate, we must provide help and healing, not abortion.
Abortion takes the life of a living human being. The circumstances of conception may have been criminal, but the life of the newly created human being is just as valuable as any other person's. We do not put criminal's innocent children to death in our culture; it simply isn't done. It should not be done in this situation, either.
Our clinics do a lot of ultrasounds. The tiny baby wiggling and moving on the screen is an amazing sight. The baby whose life started with a violent act looks the same as the one whose life began in a happy marriage. It is a life worth protecting and supporting. And so is the life of the baby’s mom.
Let’s take a look at some surprising facts:
Pregnancy resulting from rape is rare. According to ACOG, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, only .005 percent of all pregnancies (32,101) result from rape each year.
Abortion is not rare. Conservative numbers report over 626,000 abortions occurring each year in the US. That’s over 1700 abortions every single day.
The same ACOG study showed that pregnancy resulting from rape is very uncommon--less than 5.0% per rape among victims of reproductive age (aged 12 to 45). Interestingly, nearly one third (32%) of those women chose to carry to term and 6% chose to place their babies in an adoption plan.
Expanding Abortion Access is Never the Remedy
In fact, limits on abortion are actually good for women. 41 of the 50 States currently have some limits on abortion. Many of the regulations are based on gestational age. (Abortion is more dangerous for women in later stages of pregnancy.)
Some are common sense protections that supposedly "limit access" for women are in fact very helpful, such as informed consent; parental consent for minors seeking abortion; allowing only board-certified physicians to perform abortions; medical clinic health regulations; and a 24-hour waiting period.
Many states with a full “ban” on abortion have exceptions for cases of rape, incest, fetal deformity, or a perceived threat to the mother's life.
Trading “access” for women’s safety is never ok. The 9 states with no restrictions or regulations allow abortion until the due date for any reason and with no protective measures for women. They have discarded basic safety measures for a political agenda.
What are the Laws in PA?
Currently PA’s abortion laws offer some protections. Even these commonsense regulations are now being challenged. The following are some of the current protections for women.
Informed Consent. A woman must receive state-mandated counseling that includes information about all of her options.
A 24 hour wait is required after the counseling before the procedure is provided.
Determination of gestational age. This is vital (and often overlooked) especially for women seeking the abortion pill.
Parental consent for minor children. The parent of a minor must consent before an abortion is provided.
The procedure must be performed by a Board certified physician with hospital admitting privileges.
Facility safety requirements like hallways wide enough to accommodate medical emergencies.
Did you know?
Current Pennsylvania law allows abortion up to 23 weeks, 6 days of pregnancy (that’s 6 months). The baby is pain capable and is viable outside the womb. An abortion may be performed at 24 or more weeks after the woman’s last menstrual period only if the woman’s life or health is endangered.
Take it to Prayer.
Pray for our city and for those who may have been impacted by rape, incest or other crimes.
Pray for our staff to compassionately meet the unique needs of our clients facing all types of trauma.
Pray for those who are being influenced to bend their values to an extreme abortion agenda.
Pray that Pittsburgh could become a sanctuary city for life!
If you feel called to pray for the Network of Life subscribe to The Road Crew. Each week we pray for God to clear the paths to our centers, remove the obstacles, and open highways for women that will lead them to our doors and point them to Christ.
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