What does
Focus on the Family say about rape and abortion? (Yeah, it's a rhetorical question--honestly, does anyone even need to ask?)
But if you do wonder what they say, go to their site and search for RAPE. It calls up dozens of pages on ABORTION.
The message (available in all sorts of books, tapes, cds, and articles):
Beyond the Crisis: An article about a woman who kept a child conceived after a rape. The section titles tell the story: The Choice, God Had Another Plan, A Wanted Child, God's Hands and Feet, Just Love, A New Picture of God
Victims and Victors A book, subtitled: "Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault"
There's an article online about this book:
Ask the Victims: Rape and incest are tragic, but an abortion won't take away the pain.
[The editors of Victims and Victors] draw on testimonies of 192 women who experienced pregnancy as the result of rape or incest, and 55 children who were conceived through sexual assault. . . .
Nearly all the women interviewed in this anecdotal survey said they regretted aborting the babies conceived via rape or incest. Of those giving an opinion, more than 90 percent said they would discourage other victims of sexual violence from having an abortion.
On the other hand, among the women profiled in the book who conceived due to rape or incest and carried to term, not one expressed regret about her choice. Of those giving an opinion, 94 percent of rape victims and 100 percent of incest victims said abortion was not a good option for other women in their situation.
The Shattering Aftermath of Rape; Abortion: Solution or Exploitation?: " When a happily married mother of three became pregnant through rape, the 'solution' she was talked into compounded the trauma."
And so forth.
I have absolutely no problem with any woman making a free decision to keep a child conceived because of rape. More power to her. But women should not be forced to continue the pregnancy, and they shouldn't be shamed into thinking they should, which is the feeling I get looking at these things from FotF. (NOTE: I haven't read their books, just the articles.)
It seems they are saying, if you would only open your heart, you'll be able to get over the pain and horror you feel and keep the baby. And this is the best thing for the woman as well.
From Ask the Victims
"The victim may sense, at least at a subconscious level, that if she can get through the pregnancy she will have conquered the rape," Reardon writes. "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. When he was selfish, she can be generous. While he destroyed, she can nurture."
I do not want to suggest that a woman can't feel this way. I just resent the suggestion that women
should feel any particular way. No woman should be made to feel she should abort, and no woman should be made to feel she should keep the kid. Period.
And I've been talking about women. What about the girls? Who makes the decision for a teenage girl who is pregnant because of rape or incest? It is even more reprehensible to imagine those girls forced or shamed into keeping a rapist's child.