{"id":300102,"date":"2023-10-13T18:40:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T23:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=300102"},"modified":"2023-10-12T22:38:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T03:38:21","slug":"circumstances-conception-shouldnt-determine-lives-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/circumstances-conception-shouldnt-determine-lives-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Circumstances of conception shouldn’t determine whether someone lives or dies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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During the Democratic National Committee’s meeting on October 6, Vice President Kamala Harris said that pro-life laws — specifically those protecting preborn children who are conceived in rape or incest \u2014 are “immoral.” Unfortunately, much of America agrees with her.<\/p>\n

Harris told her audience, “After someone has survived a crime of violence to their body, a violation to their body … that they cannot have the authority to make a decision about what happens to their body next, that is immoral.”<\/p>\n

A 2023 NPR\/PBS NewsHour\/Marist poll<\/a> found that 70% of Americans believe abortion should be allowed at any time<\/em> during pregnancy in cases of rape or incest \u2014 meaning that babies old enough to survive outside the womb could be killed simply due to to the circumstances of their conception, over which they had no control. In addition, a 2022 Pew Research Center poll<\/a>\u00a0found that 36% of those who consider themselves to be pro-life<\/em> think it should be legal to kill preborn children conceived as a result of rape.<\/p>\n

Being pro-life except<\/em> for babies conceived in rape or incest indicates that the person holding that belief doesn’t truly think babies in the womb are living beings worthy of life regardless of the circumstance. Like rape, abortion is an act of violence done to a person’s body, in this case the preborn child’s body, and it is not<\/em> the solution<\/em> for rape, nor does it bring healing to the survivor.<\/p>\n

Life begins at fertilization, no matter the circumstances of conception<\/strong><\/p>\n

Science is clear that from the moment of fertilization, a new<\/em> human being<\/em> comes into existence. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding her conception, every human being in the womb is a living, innocent person. Embryology textbooks do not state that only children conceived under certain circumstances are human and worthy of life. Science does not discriminate and neither should pro-life laws. Preborn children are either human or they’re not \u2014 and science proves that they are.<\/p>\n

When a woman or girl suffers the unimaginable trauma of a sexual assault, she deserves support, compassion, and justice. Telling her she should kill her preborn child is not supportive or compassionate and does not win justice for her, and does a violent injustice to her child also. Research and personal stories regarding rape and pregnancy are evidence of this.<\/p>\n