RAPE, INCEST AND ABORTION: SEARCHING BEYOND THE MYTHS
*italics* #boldface#
"How can you deny an abortion to a twelve-year-old girl who is the victim
of incest?" complains an indignant supporter of abortion. "And how can you
call yourself a loving Christian if you would force a victim of violent
rape to give birth to a rapist's child?"
Every pro-lifer has heard these same challenges in one form or another.
They are the emotionally charged questions designed to prove either 1)
that pro-lifers are insensitive "fetus lovers," 2) or ethically
inconsistent, allowing abortion for some circumstances but not others.
Unfortunately, most pro-lifers have difficulty answering these challenges
because the issue of sexual assault pregnancies is so widely
misunderstood. Typically, both sides of the debate accept the presumption
that women with sexual assault pregnancies would want an abortion and that
the abortion would in some way help them to recover from the assault.
Thus, the pro-lifer is left in the uncomfortable position of arguing that
the sanctity of life is more important than the needs of the sexual
assault victim with whom everyone should rightly sympathize.
But in fact, the welfare of the mother and child are never at odds, even
in sexual assault cases. Both the mother and child are helped by
*preserving* life, not by perpetuating violence.
The reason most people reach the wrong conclusion about abortion in cases
of rape and incest is that the actual experiences of sexual assault
victims who became pregnant are routinely left out of the debate. Most
people, including sexual assault victims who have never been pregnant, are
therefore forming opinions based on prejudices and fears which are
disconnected from reality.
(Inset)
#Abortion is not some magical surgery which turns back time to make a
woman "un-pregnant."
(End inset)
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, Dr. Sandra Mahkorn found that 75 to 85 percent
chose *against* abortion.1 This evidence alone should cause people to pause
and reflect on the presumption that abortion is wanted or even best for
sexual assault victims.
Several reasons are given for not aborting. First, approximately 70
percent of all women believe abortion is immoral, even though many also
feel it should be a legal choice for others. Approximately the same
percentage of pregnant rape victims believe abortion would be just another
act of violence perpetrated against their bodies and their children.
Second, some believe that their child's life 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.
Third, victims of assault often become introspective. Their sense of the
value of life and respect for others is heightened. They have been
victimized, and the thought that they in turn might victimize their own
innocent child through abortion is repulsive.
Fourth, at least at a subconscious level, the victim may sense 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 was destroying, she can be nurturing.
If giving birth builds self respect, what does abortion do? This is a
question which most people fail to even consider. Instead, most people
assume that an abortion will at least help a rape victim put the assault
behind her and go on with her life. But in jumping to this conclusion, the
public is adopting an unrealistic view of abortion.
Abortion is not some magical surgery which turns back time 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 ramifications on a woman's life, then we must carefully look at
the special circumstances of the pregnant rape victim. Will an abortion
truly console her, or will it only cause further injury to her already
bruised psyche?
In answering this question, it is helpful to begin by noting that many
women report that their abortions felt like a degrading and brutal form of
medical rape.2 This association between abortion and rape is not hard to
understand.
Abortion involves a painful examination of 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. If she protests and asks for the
abortionist to stop, she will likely be ignored or told: "It's too late
to change your mind. This is what you wanted. We have to finish now." And
while she lies there tense and helpless, the life hidden within her is
literally sucked out of her womb. The difference? In a sexual rape, a
woman is robbed of her purity; in this medical rape she is robbed of her
maternity.
This experiential association between abortion and sexual assault is very
strong for many women. It is especially strong for women who have a prior
history of sexual assault, whether or not they are presently pregnant as
the result of an assault.3 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 other women.
#Adding Fuel to the Fire#
Second, research shows that after any abortion, it is common for women to
experience guilt, depression, feelings of being "dirty," resentment of
men, and lowered self-esteem. What is most significant is that these
feelings are identical to what women typically feel after rape. Abortion,
then, only adds to and accentuates the traumatic feelings associated with
sexual assault. Rather than easing the psychological burdens of the sexual
assault victim, abortion adds to them.
This was the experience of Jackie Bakker, who reports: "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."
Those encouraging abortion often do so because they are uncomfortable
dealing with rape victims, or perhaps out of prejudice against victims
whom they see as being "guilty for letting 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.
According to Kathleen DeZeeuw, "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."
#Trapping the Incest Victim#
The case against abortion of incest pregnancies is even stronger. Studies
show that incest victims rarely ever voluntarily agree to an abortion.4
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 true loving relationship, one far different than the
exploitive relationship in which she has been trapped.
But while the incest victim may treasure her pregnancy because it offers
her hope of release, and the hope of finding a nurturing love, her
pregnancy is a threat to the exploiter. It is also a threat to the
pathological secrecy which may envelop other members of the family who are
afraid to acknowledge that the abuse is occurring. Because of this dual
threat, the victim may be coerced into an unwanted abortion by both the
abuser and other family members.
For example, Edith Young, 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 providers who ignore this evidence, and neglect to interview
minors presented for abortion for signs of coercion or incest, are
actually contributing to the young girl's victimization. They are not only
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.
Finally, we must recognize that the children conceived through sexual
assault also have a voice which deserves to be heard. Julie Makimaa,
conceived by an act of rape, works diligently against the perception that
abortion is acceptable or even necessary in cases of sexual assault. While
sympathetic to the suffering her mother endured at the hands of her
attacker, Julie is also rightfully proud of her mother's courage and
generosity. Regarding her own view of her origin, Julie proclaims: "It
doesn't matter how I began. What matters is who I will become."
That's a slogan we can all live with.
DCR
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 Francke, *The Ambivalence of Abortion* (New York: Random House,1978) 84-95,
167.; Reardon, *Aborted Women - Silent No More* (Chicago: Loyola University
Press, 1987),51,126.
3 Zakus, "Adolescent Abortion Option," *Social Work in Health Care*,
12(4):87 (1987).
4. Maloof, "The Consequences of Incest: Giving and Taking Life" *The
Psychological Aspects of Abortion* (eds. Mall & Watts, Washington, D.C.,
University Publications of America, 1979) 84-85.
THE POST-ABORTION REVIEW is a quarterly journal of the Elliot Institute
for Social Sciences Research. The Elliot Institute was founded in 1988 to
perform original research and education on the impact of abortion on
women, men, siblings, and society. THE POST-ABORTION REVIEW reports on the
research and activities of the Elliot Institute and related post-abortion
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This issue has been written and edited by David Reardon, Director of the
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Winter 1994 Elliot Institute
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