Abortion in the cases of Rape or Incest?

Of course, we all have tremendous empathy for anyone who has been raped. We can’t think of anything more traumatizing than rape. Our heart goes out to anyone who has been victimized by this horrific act of brutal violence against women. Victims of rape need and deserve our support, help, care, and love.

However, out of love, concern, and empathy for the rape victim, we need to thoughtfully and compassionately ask, is abortion really the best response to the horrific trauma of rape?

Abortion will not undo the pain of and trauma of rape.  Instead, the pain of abortion may add to a woman’s emotional and physical abuse. Abortion, like rape, is a violent, traumatic, destructive act, hurting millions of women for a lifetime.

What do the victims of rape say about their own personal experience?  What do the children conceived in rape say about this issue?  Does the child conceived in rape deserve the Death Penalty for the crime of her father?  Does the circumstance of our conception determine the value of our life?

How often is abortion done due to rape?
According to the abortion industry data provided by the Guttmacher Institute, 1% of abortions are done due to rape, which at first sounds like a very small number.  Yet, we must realize that one percent of the over one million abortions occurring each year in America, means that there will be 10,000 women undergoing abortion due to rape, involving 10,000 innocent human beings who are being killed each year due to the crimes of their father. Rape victims need our help and loving support.

Women deserve better than abortion and every child conceived in rape deserves a chance to live. The circumstances of our conception do not determine our value or our worthiness to live.


What about pregnancy from incest?  Is abortion the best thing for an incest victim?
According to the abortion industry data provided by the Guttmacher Institute, less than .5% of abortions are due to incest.  Again, we need to support the victims of incest, with love and compassion.  It is possible that the victim’s pregnancy gives her the first real chance of overcoming the family’s denial and escaping from incest.   Her pregnancy provides absolute proof of the crime of incest, while abortion adds to the young girl’s sense of guilt and trauma, further covering up the crime and sending the victim back into an abusive home.  Oftentimes, the victims of incest are pressured, forced into abortions by family members who are trying to hide the incestual relationship.   We need to stop the abuse, rescue the victim, report the crime, and penalize the perpetrator, rather than do further harm to innocent lives, of both mother and baby.

Isn’t a baby conceived from incest likely to be disabled?
While there may be a slight increased risk of a disability, it is still much more likely that the baby will not be disabled.  Should babies be killed because they are or may be disabled?  None of us can guarantee we will go through life without a disability, even if we came into the world with none.  We wouldn’t think of killing someone just because they are disabled, so how can we justify killing babies due to the crimes of her father?

For more information about rape, incest, and abortion, see “Conceived in Rape” website.