Posted on 08/10/2006 4:13:23 PM PDT by Fishtalk
First of all, if the raped woman is married and/or sexually active, she doesn't necessarily know that the pregnancy was the product of a rape.
I know a white woman who was assaulted and raped by a black man in a parking garage, who became pregnant. She and her husband struggled over whether to get an abortionn, and after much anguishing and prayer, decided not to, but rather to give birth and then place the child for adoption.
When she gave birth they realized that it wasn't the "product" (abhorrent term) of the rapist, but was their own child: she and her husband had apparently conceived, unbeknownst to them, sometime in the two weeks prior to the rape. Of course they did not go through with the adoption plan: they were just thankful they hadn't inadvertently dismembered the child begotten in the security of their wedded love.
Which brings up my second point: if the woman doesn't feel she can raise the child herself, she can place it in the loving arms of an adoptive couple who will.
And my third point: these conceived childen are not "the rapist's" any more than they are "ours," in the sense of property that we can dispose of as we see fit. They belong to themselves. They belong to the future. They belong, if you like, to God. Do you really believe that women (or men) who are really, really emotionally upset are therefore at liberty to kill their children?
That is what any girl or woman pregnant by rape should know. She has already been traumatized by a despicable act of violence of which she was a victim. If we respect her, we will not set her up for a second act of violence in which she would be the perpetrator: an act immeasurably more damaging to her emotional, intellectual and moral integrity.
DId you say, prolong the child's ordeal? If not "prolong", then what... cut the child to pieces?
By what principle is it acceptable to kill a child for the crime of his father?
Cordially,
That wasn't the scenario I was suggesting. A child with her life in front of her raped by some beasts in Harlem.
..men who were caught up in the thinking of the 60's, 70's...and helped or encouraged their women to abort their own chidlren.
I don't think a man can quite experience the mind numbing pain & loss that it is to a woman.....
..but I do think there are men who came to realize ...in later years...what they did or let their women do....
..and know in their hearts they were part of this killing of their own flesh and blood.
I believe there are hurting men out there too....
..and many of them have found redemption and forgiveness...through repentence.
The child who was raped.
..but if they are truly Christian, they will not be calling anyone a 'baby killer'....
...unless it's George Tiller, who gets a perverse pleasure in aborting babies in the 2nd and 3rd trimester....and has for over 20 years, in Wichita, Kansas.
I'm glad you are honest. I will certainly not subscribe to Ms. Magazine (I'm a guy, so why would I be interested in that anyhow?), and if I ever get a girlfriend, I'll advise her to do likewise.
Many people automatically make the assumption that abortion is compassionate for the pregnant girl or woman in a rape-pregnancy situation. I beg you to consider that this may not be the case.
I have a friend who performed a series of abortions on girls at a Pediatric Hospital in the South Bronx in the early 70's when abortion was legal in NY but illegal in most of the rest of the country. My friend (Consuelo) believed that since the circumstances for these pregnancies were traumatic (forcible or statutory rape), the abortions would be therapeutic. What she found was that disturbingly, it's not that simple.
The outcome for the girls who got abortions was not empirically better than for girls in the same circumstances who did NOT get abortions.
These findings were counter-intuitive for Consuelo, to say the least. It seemed incredible. But this is what kept coming up: The younger the rape victim, the more she tended to identify with the baby. ("If the baby would be better off dead, maybe I would be better off dead.") The worst emotional damage from the rape was seen when the victim felt (irrationally) guilty. Abortion exacerbated the girl's sense of personal guilt.
Moreover, pregnancy seemed to extend the time during which people were focusing "tender loving care" on the girl. Abortion tended to make the girls' "sympathizers" lose interest. ("We fixed it. It's over. Now shut up and move on.")
Abortion worsened the girls' self esteem (they went from "my body is something that turns on pervs" to "my body is a place where babies die.")
Researcher David Reardon found some of the same complicated stuff going on with post-rape abortion. I found that reading more about it deepened my understanding and (I hope) my compassion.
http://www.abortionfacts.com/reardon/about_elliot.asp
Scroll down this page about 9/10 of the way, to find the part about rape, incest, and abortion.
I am convinced that abortion in the case of rape is unjust, because it fails to give protection to one of the blameless parties, the baby. But I would say that it fails as an act of compassion, as well.
Childbirth under difficult circumstances can restore and strengthen a girl's self-esteem: "I am not bad, or filthy, or weak. I am life-giving! Despite what was done to me, I have the strength to do the right thing!" No abortion can ever give her that.
She's not amputating an arm or a leg. It is an individual life, with its very own unique DNA, that happens to be within her. It is not her body.
You have some strange views on property rights but I'll probably bow out here before the religies lynch me.
SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Property rights??? Are you serious or stupid or just madly trying to justify your pro-abortion stance? I'd love for you to clarify what I've quoted. I sure hope I am misunderstanding you.
You go, Girl!!
We need brave women to stand up to the women who tell us we have to destroy our very womanhood in order to have everything that a man can have. (That goal and their idea of the means toward that goal just show a lack of imagination and inner resources.)
Thanks!
" Askel is not. Most posters here seem to be women."
One female here.
It isn't her body..she gets to keep it after her baby loses hers.
Most people wouldn't call me a Christian; I welcome religious expression even if I don't agree 100%. Religious freedom is being attacked from so many sides now.
Check this thread out for a personal story:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1682147/posts
A FReeper's Story of Her Abortion and the Aftermath
BOOOOOO!!!!!
As a person who is the result of rape....I can't agree with your position though I do understand the emotion behind the thought.
I found my biomother in 2003 and spoke to her exactly 2 years to the day before she died. While it was hard for her to have had me find her, and no doubt it brought back stressful and painful memories, at the same time, by her own words, it meant everything to her to hear me tell her how courageous she was and how grateful I am for her sacrifice and the opportunity to have a great life.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.