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| Rape and Abortion |  Rape is a horrible crime of violence against women. This terrible and pernicious violence often causes sever damage to the victim. As a rule, woman is physically damaged and, more often, emotionally. She will experience anger, guilt, disgust and loss of self-esteem. This happens even when there is no pregnancy as a result of rape.
In fact, rape is a very emotional topic. It naturally evokes feelings of revulsion in the ordinary person, but this can lead to illogical and ungrounded judgments with regard to pregnancy as a result of rape. The quick-fix solution of abortion is offered to rape victims who are pregnant. Is this what they really need?
It is interested to know why pregnancy from rape is extremely rare:
- The woman may be infertile at the time of violence. Her organism may be in the infertile phase of her monthly cycle, too old or young to conceive.
- Physicians think that the trauma of sexual assault is likely to restrain ovulation.
- Rape does not always involve a complete act of sexual intercourse.
- Statistics all over the world show that the rate of pregnancy emanating from sexual assault is 0.1%
Because pregnancy from rape is so rare, there is little research available on sexual assault and pregnancy. Nevertheless, a study by Dr. Scindra Mohkorn about Pregnancy and Sexual Assault, New Perspectives on Human Abortion (1981), was the first one in this area. It studied 37 pregnant rape victims in the USA.
This study produced staggering findings that were contrary to the commonly opinion that rape victims seek and need abortion. It provided proof of the following arguments.
Abortion is a quick-fix solution. But rape victims require long-term care and compassion. People think that by killing the baby, it offers sufficient solution to the assaulted woman. Abortion does not make you unpregnate - it makes you the mother of a dead baby. In Dr. Mahkorn's study the most part of sexual assault victims refused abortion.
Abortion is intrusive and violent action. It can evoke the same kind of feelings like anger, fear, guilt, and self-doubt that follows rape. For many women abortion, like rape, is an experience they will never forget.
Moreover, abortion can cause physical damage. It increases the chance of miscarriage and makes STD's like chlamydia, worse. Infertility and increased risk of ectopic pregnancy may also occur.
Why should baby be victimized by being killed? Many women in Dr. Mohkorn's study reported poignantly and courageously of their desire to protect the child in their wombs from such a brutal death as an abortion. Women made pregnant by rape who do not abort say that hostile and negative feelings towards the baby change during pregnancy.
Some women have even thrown away their plans to have the baby adopted and decided to bring up the baby themselves.
Some pregnant rape victims have reported that, at a subconscious level, if they go through with the pregnancy, they will have conquered the rape.
Abortion should never be considered as a treatment for incest, because it does not solve the underlying cause. Abortion in fact, becomes a convenient cover up for the crime and hinders the prosecution of the offender.
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