Category: Sexual Assault Victims

Should abortion be legal in cases of rape or incest? That is a difficult question. Each individual must use their own conscience to decide whether or not to support abortion in those cases. But I hope that reading the quotes here will make you think about whether abortion is good for women, even in these extreme cases. To finish, I will leave you with the words of one woman who was raped and had her child before Roe v. Wade:

“Never, in the years after her birth, did I ever regret giving life to my daughter. However, there have been many times when I have looked back grateful that no state legislature had provided an easy, instant answer of a free abortion for me. I’m grateful because, at that time, I might have bought into the lie that an abortion would fix all my problems. But fortunately that temptation wasn’t there.”

David C. Reardon, Julie Makimaa, and Amy Sobie. “Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting From Sexual Assault” Springfield, IL: Acorn Books) 2000 p 94

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Helene Evans says:

“The negative feelings resulting from the rape were not eliminated by the abortion. Nothing was solved, instead the grief was now doubled …I feel that those who support abortion in cases of rape and incest do not know what they are talking about. What they may think of as an act of mercy is no mercy at all. Abortion does not help or solve a problem- it only compounds and creates another trauma for the already grieving victim by taking away the one thing that can bring joy.”

David C. Reardon, Julie Makimaa, and Amy Sobie. “Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting From Sexual Assault” Springfield, IL: Acorn Books) 2000 p 68-69

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Another woman, identified as “Rebecca” was raped and had an abortion and says:

“I know the pro-abortionists are wrong. They say abortion is the easy way out, the best thing for everyone, but they are wrong. It’s been over 15 years and I still suffer.”

David C. Reardon, Julie Makimaa, and Amy Sobie. “Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting From Sexual Assault” Springfield, IL: Acorn Books) 2000 p 65

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Marie Rodler, who had an abortion after become pregnant from a rape, has this to say:

“Abortion is not helpful; it only obscures the areas that need healing by placing a huge wall of guilt between the real issues and the woman’s conscience. Abortion puts everyone’s attention on the pregnancy instead of the victim and her needs.”

David C. Reardon, Julie Makimaa, and Amy Sobie. “Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting From Sexual Assault” Springfield, IL: Acorn Books) 2000 p 62-63

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In the book Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault, which was written as a result of the study mentioned above, a number of women who have been there discuss how they feel about abortion after rape.

Kathleen DeZeeuw, the mother of a child conceived in rape, says:

“To me, it is an affront every time I hear all the rhetoric from the pro-abortionists. As I stated before, a woman is most vulnerable at a time such as this, and doesn’t need to be pounced on by yet another act of violence. She needs someone to truly listen to her, care for her, and give her time to heal.

I, having lived through rape, and also having raised a child ‘conceived in rape’, feel personally assaulted and insulted every time I hear that abortion should be legal because of rape and incest. I feel that we’re being used to further the abortion issue, even though we’ve not been asked to tell our side of the story.”

David C. Reardon, Julie Makimaa, and Amy Sobie. “Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting From Sexual Assault” Springfield, IL: Acorn Books) 2000 p 46

 

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Lee Ezell, author of the book “The Missing Piece” (Servant Publishing)was raped and became pregnant. She describes meeting her daughter, who she gave up for adoption:

“We met for the first time just a month after our first phone conversation. There are no words to describe my exact feelings as Julie walked into my hotel room.

Here was the child whose memory I’d hidden in my heart for so many years, the child who has given me my first grandchildren…She embraced me. We cried. Bob [her husband] said with all the love in the world in his voice: “Thank you for not aborting Julie. What would my life be like without her?”

…..

Finding my daughter has enriched my life beyond measure. The couple, who adopted her, Eileen and Harold Anderson, are beautiful people.

Julie, Eileen and I have been speaking to various groups about what happened to us. I guess our message is that just as bad things can happen to good people, so can something beautiful come from a wicked act. Julie is living proof of it.”

Lee Ezell “I Was Raped” Lovematters.com advertising supplement, Vol. 18, 2009

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Christian singer Tata Vega, who has released twelve albums and performed with artists such as Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, had two abortions, one after a rape as a teenager. She maintains that her abortions led to substance abuse and a life-long depression that required hospitalization, and says that she regrets her abortions- both of them. She is quoted saying:

“Now, if somebody gets pregnant, I tell her to have the baby; I’ll take it. God has a plan for these children– even if they’re conceived in rape.”

Vega is not just spewing religious rhetoric- she’s lived through it.

“Amazing Grace” by Ginger E. McFarland “Today’s Christian Woman” Jul/Aug 2000 vol. 22 Issue 4, p20

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In a program for those who regretted having an abortion, one exercise was to write a letter to the aborted baby. One woman made her letter public. This is what she wrote:

“Dear Jennifer,

I knew the moment you were conceived, although I tried hard to ignore it. Since you were the result of rape, I felt so lonely and confused. In the beginning I wanted only to destroy you. However, when I began to experience your movements within, I found myself accepting your existence. You were 22 weeks old by the time permission for my legal abortion was granted, and I had decided to keep you. I had grown to love you, but under pressure from those around me, I went ahead with the abortion. For years afterwards your cries echoed in endless dreams until healing finally took place. Then I named you and allowed myself to grieve over your death. I also was a victim as a result of making my decision based on a few scraps of misinformation. Part of me died with you. As you look down from Heaven, I know you forgive me as even I have learned to forgive myself. Now, I press on to help others not to make the mistake I did.”

“Raped and Pregnant: Three Women Tell Their Stories” 1986

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