{"id":209853,"date":"2019-09-03T15:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T20:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=209853"},"modified":"2019-09-02T21:50:33","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T02:50:33","slug":"abortion-not-compassion-rape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-not-compassion-rape\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion is not an act of compassion for women pregnant after rape"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Pregnancy Help News<\/a>) – As we waited in line to purchase tickets to our community rodeo a few years ago, my husband Scott and I happened into a conversation with a candidate for a local political office.<\/p>\n

Scott asked him, \u201cHow would you vote on issues regarding abortion? What\u2019s your position on that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d said the man carefully, \u201cI\u2019m not for it personally, but I can see why women would need that option in the case of rape.\u201d<\/p>\n

His politically correct answer is the primary reason most people cite in arguing that abortion should be kept legal, despite the fact that\u00a0less than 1% of abortions<\/a>\u00a0are done because of the \u201chard cases\u201d (rape, incest, life or health of the mother, fetal birth defects).<\/p>\n

The reason for the rape exception is compassion for the pregnant victim of rape\u2026or at least, that\u2019s the narrative.<\/p>\n

Since pregnancy centers are known for offering compassion and support to those facing unplanned pregnancies, let\u2019s drill into this a bit and see if the logic holds up.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Women pregnant by rape: Abortion \u2018just added more layers of trauma\u2019<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

First, the \u201ccompassion\u201d argument operates on the assumption that bearing a child who was conceived by means of rape will be a source of emotional torment to the mother.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s this notion that the child may look like the perpetrator, forever reminding the mother of that dark moment in her life.<\/p>\n

Under closer scrutiny, this presumption falls apart. Given genetic variables, how do we know what the child will look like?\u00a0 Even if the child resembles the father, this line of reasoning negates the power of the bond between a mother and her child.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not okay to take the life of a child based on the assumption that his or her looks may upset the mother.<\/p>\n

Second, the argument that abortion in the case of rape is compassionate dismisses the negative effects of abortion on women.<\/p>\n

When a woman is sexually violated, she suffers from the trauma of an assault against her body and her soul.<\/p>\n

Abortion represents another kind of trauma\u2014another invasion into a woman\u2019s being capable of leaving significant scars in her soul, and often enough, her body as well. Just ask the myriad of women who have undergone post-abortion recovery how intense the emotional work of healing was for them.<\/p>\n

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