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From the group ‘Physicians for Life’

Assault Rape Pregnancies Are Rare

First, let’s define the term “rape”. We should use the phrase “forced rape” or “assault rape” for that specifies what we’re talking about. Rape can also be statutory. Depending upon your state law, statutory rape is intercourse with a girl under a certain age, often 16. Statutory rape can be consensual, but it is still statutory rape.

Another category is “date rape”. For some reason, this is supposed to be different, but, forced rape is still rape, regardless of whether it occurs on a date or behind the bushes. If a college woman is raped on a date, she should report it to the police and pursue charges. Further, she should undergo a medical examination and treatment, just as she would in the aftermath of an assault rape. It is not a separate category.

Assault rape pregnancies are extremely rare...How many forced rapes result in a pregnancy?...There have been some studies. In a statistical abstract of the U.S. in 1989, there were 90,000 rapes reported in the United States. [Bureau of Census Table #283]

Another study from the US Justice Department, surveyed 49,000 households annually between the years 1973-1987. In 1973, it reported 95,934 completed rapes. In 1987, the figure was 82,505. The study stated that only 53% were reported to police. Factoring this in, the totals were 181,000 rapes in 1973 and 155,000 in 1987. In August 1995, the US Justice Department, using a different study with different questions, returned a result of 170,000 completed rapes plus 140,000 attempted rapes (210,000).

There are approximately 100,000,000 females old enough to be at risk for rape in the U.S. If we calculate on the basis of 100,000 rapes, that means that one woman in 1,000 is raped each year. If we calculate on the basis of 200,000 rapes, that means that one woman in 500 is raped each year.

So, how many rape pregnancies are there? The answer is that, according to statistical reporting, there are no more than one or two pregnancies resultant from every 1000 forced rapes.

Does that make sense? Using the figure of 200,000 women who were forcibly raped, one-third were either too old or too young to get pregnant. That leaves 133,000 at risk for pregnancy.

A woman is capable of being fertilized only 3-6 days of a 30-day month. Multiply our figure of 133,000 by by 0.3. Three days of 30 reduces to 1 of 10. Divide 133,000 by 10, and we have 13,300 women remaining. If we use 5 days of 30, then we have 1 of 6. Divide 133,000 by 6 and there are 22,166 women remaining.
One-fourth of all women in the U.S. of childbearing age have been sterilized, so the remaining three-fourths comes to 10,000 (or 15,000).
Only half of assailants penetrate her body and/or deposit sperm in her vagina1, so cut the remaining figures in half. This leaves 5,000 (or 7,500).
Fifteen percent of men are sterile, which drops that figure to 4,250 (or 6,375).
Another 15% of women are on the pill or already pregnant. That reduces the number to 3,070 (or 4,600).
Now factor in the fact that it takes 5-10 months for the average couple to achieve a pregnancy. Use the smaller figure of 5 months to be conservative and divide the above figures by 5. The number now drops to 600 (or 920).
In an average population, the miscarriage rate is about 15%. In this case, we have incredible emotional trauma. Her body is upset. Even if she conceives, the miscarriage rate will be higher than in a more normal pregnancy. If 20% of raped women miscarry, the figure drops to 450 (or 740).
Finally, factor in what is certainly one of the most important reasons why a rape victim rarely gets pregnant, and that’s psychic trauma. Every woman is aware that stress and emotional factors can alter her menstrual cycle. To get and stay pregnant a woman’s body must produce a very sophisticated mix of hormones. Hormone production is controlled by a part of the brain that is easily influenced by emotions. There’s no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape. This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, and implantation.
What further percentage reduction in pregnancy will this cause? No one knows. but this factor may well cut this last figure by at least 50%, which would make the final figure 225 (or 370) women pregnant each year from forced rape. These numbers closely match the 200 that have been documented in clinical studies.

So, assault rape pregnancy is extremely rare. If we use the figure of 200, it is 4 per state per year. Even if we use a figure of 500, we’re talking about 10 rape pregnancies per state, per year.

In the U.S. in one year, there are more than 6 million pregnancies. Roughly 3 million eventuate in live birth, 1.5 million are aborted and 500,000 miscarry. While each assault rape pregnancy is a tragedy for the mother (not for the baby, though), such pregnancies amount to a small fraction of the total annual U.S. pregnancies. Further, less than half of assault rape pregnancies are aborted, even though that course of action tends to be vigorously pushed by those around the woman.2, 3

1 New England Journal of Medicine, A.N. Groth, Sexual Dysfunction During Rape, 6Oct1977, p.764-766.

2.Mahkorn & Dolan, “Sexual Assault & Pregnancy”, New Perspectives on Human Abortion, University Publisher of America, 1981, pp. 182-199.

3 Mahkorn, “Pregnancy & Sexual Assault,” Psychological Aspects of Abortion, University Publishers of America, 1979, pp., 53-72.

[J.C. Willke, M.D., Life Issues Connector, 4/1999]

h/t: RightFighter

A little Googling finds “the adult pregnancy rate associated with rape is estimated to be 4.7%.” Another study by an M.D. suggests that the physical trauma associated with rape would make conception less likely.

In terms of what “legitimate rape” means, only Todd Can explain that. I’m sure he would agree it was not the best choice of words since it is confusing. He could be comparing to statutory rape (which is not necessarily a physically violent act) or to a false accusation of rape. What he most likely meant to say was “violent rape” because that is the kind that would result in direct emotional and physical trauma that some doctors seem to say impedes the hormonal balance that helps cause a pregnancy.

I don’t believe in attacking Todd for one gaffe when he qualified his statement, did not say it was an absolute fact 100% of the time, and his ultimate point was a truthful, spiritual one. The child resulting from a rape is innocent and should not be punished with the termination of his or her life.

h/t: JediJones