*This is the sixth
installment in a series of posts on pro-life apologetics based on the “When
They Say, You Say” talks
developed by Olivia Gans Turner and Mary Spaulding Balch. While reading in
order is not strictly necessary, you may find it helpful. Post
1. Post
2. Post
3. Post
4. Post
5.
Rape. Incest. Fetal Abnormality. These constitute what we call “the
hard cases,” because they are incredibly personal and emotionally charged. Many
people are afraid to talk about them, but you shouldn’t be. Discussing the hard
cases requires compassion, sensitivity, and reason, just like everything we’ve talked
about so far.
Abortion advocates often bring up the hard cases because they know they
carry emotional weight and tend to shake up their pro-life peers. Even those
who are otherwise pro-life hesitate when it comes to abortion in the case of
rape and incest.
When you look at the statistics, though, you’ll notice that the vast majority of
abortions aren’t for the hard cases at all; in fact, rape and incest
account for less than 1% of all abortions. In total, rape, incest, life of the mother,
and fetal abnormality are the reasons given for only 7% of abortions. It is
very important not to downplay the tragedy behind these statistics. You
should bring this up to illustrate that there is not an overwhelming need for
abortion in these circumstances, but be careful: you cannot reduce the
suffering of rape victims to a small statistic in the abortion debate.
So what do we say about abortion in the case of rape? First, remember
that rape is a disgusting, violent crime. Whatever you do, start by acknowledging
the woman’s pain; she is
Too often, when a woman conceives after rape, counselors encourage her
to abort her baby. On the surface, this seems like a reasonable solution since
she was forced into her situation. Upon closer analysis, however, this line of
reasoning falls apart. Regardless of how he was conceived, the baby is still a
unique, innocent human life. Abortion is a death sentence, but it punishes the
child for the crime of his father. We forget that the child has two parents—he is
also his mother’s, and when we pressure her to abort, we turn her into the
aggressor against her own child. Rape victims are already traumatized, and women
who have abortions often suffer emotionally, physically, and psychologically
for the rest of their lives. When a woman is pressured into abortion after being raped,
then, she often feels like she has been victimized twice.
In the case of incest, which almost always involves the abuse of a
minor by an older relative or family friend, abortion not only takes an
innocent life and further traumatizes the mother, it also shields the criminal.
He pays for his victim’s abortion and resumes his abuse, unbeknownst to those
who would protect her. In this way, abortion allows the cycle of abuse to
continue, and, again, only adds to the mother’s pain.
But won’t carrying her child to term only distress the mother further?
We often hear that women who are pregnant after rape will relive their rape
every day. However, studies have shown that women who continue their
pregnancies after rape actually heal better than those who abort. Rather than
trying to cover up her experience as something shameful, she is able to cope
with it in an open, healthy manner. Like grieving, recovering from a rape is a
process that takes time. Women reported that although they were afraid at
first, in the end they felt that giving life to their child was a special way
of redeeming their horrible experience. Instead of compounding the violence of
the rape with an abortion, they brought something good and beautiful to the
world.
Just as a child conceived in rape has the same dignity, value, and
right to life as a “planned” child, so does a baby diagnosed with fetal
abnormalities. It’s never easy for parents to hear that their very much wanted
baby might have a lifelong disability or perhaps not survive outside the womb,
but this does not make abortion the acceptable solution.
We should never judge the worth of a life based upon an arbitrary
standard of “quality.” All lives are unique and valuable, and to say
otherwise is to establish a dangerous precedent that opens the door to
euthanasia. If we say that babies in the womb should be aborted due to
disabilities, what’s to prevent us from extending that principle to those
outside the womb with disabilities? Modern technology has made it much easier
to accurately diagnose problems before birth, but sadly our medical
professionals often use this as a means of advocating the abortion of these “less
than perfect” children instead of using it as an opportunity to better equip
themselves to care for those children’s medical needs.
Even when parents receive a fatal prenatal diagnosis, we know that it’s
better for them to continue their pregnancies, just like those pregnant through
rape. Many times, parents are excited about their baby and have already picked
out names and planned for their future with their baby when they receive the
diagnosis. They’re already grieving the life of their baby…before their baby
has died. Abortion, rather than acknowledging that baby as a valued family
member, turns him into a problem that must be destroyed. In contrast, those
with experience at perinatal hospices
know that treating the baby as a valuable human being, regardless of how long
he lives, brings much greater peace and healing to his family. Families are
able to celebrate their newest member’s brief life and are allowed to grieve
naturally. Their baby isn’t treated as a problem, but as a blessing.
These cases are all difficult and entail much suffering, but abortion
only adds to that suffering. Sympathy, compassion, and love are needed when we
talk about them, but so are facts. No matter how a baby is conceived and no
matter what disabilities he may have, he is still a unique human life, as fully
worthy of our protection and love as his parents.
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