Category: Sexual Assault Victims

A woman who became pregnant after rape writes about her abortion:

“My child was three and a half weeks old when I made the decision to have an abortion, killing him and wounding my heart forever. …

A few years passed and I tried my best to forget what happened. Stitches were removed, wounds healed and even scars began to fade. From an outside perspective, I looked as though I was doing much better, but my heart was plagued with the decision that I’d made.  I could never fully push it away, despite my best efforts.

I put up a good front, pretending that everything was fine. In reality, I had found my way to a secret life of drugs, alcohol and just about anything else I could do to numb the pain I felt inside my heart…..

Now, nearly five years removed from the decision to have my abortion, I can say with some certainty that I regret it to the fullest extent possible. My heart hurts deeply with the wounds that came from my assault.  But the pain of knowing that I will never meet my child hurts more deeply. While I continue to wonder how I could have coped with having a baby from rape, I know that killing him did nothing to heal my pain.”

“After I was raped I aborted my child, but that only increased the pain” LifeSiteNews Feb 24, 2012

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A woman who was raped and decided to have her baby wrote:

“… I can honestly say that keeping my daughter was a great decision, and I really enjoy being a mother. Although she was conceived in traumatic circumstances, I came to understand that she had done nothing wrong and was not responsible for the way she came into the world.

Some people have judged me harshly for carrying the child of a rapist; but when I look at my daughter I don’t see the face of my rapist – I see my beautiful daughter, who I love. She is the proof that something good can come from something terrible…”

Lisa Firth Issues: Abortion – Rights and Ethics (Great Shelford, Cambridge: Independence, 2009) 22

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A woman who was raped and had her baby says:

“I had no support, and at times I felt like I was drowning in darkness. Yet I had one magnificent secret gift – the flourishing life of my unborn baby. This life gave me a thread of hope to begin to heal. I gave birth to a precious baby girl with blue eyes and dark hair, so tiny and so vulnerable. I named her Jennifer, and I knew she was a sacred gift to be loved and cherished. My daughter is wonderful, and she has touched many lives including my own. I am so thankful for giving birth to her; I have no regrets.”

“This Is Not Your Only Choice” Human Life Alliance 2012

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A woman named Doris tells her story:

“On the outside I was a normal 15-year-old, enjoying shopping with my friends, listening to music and going to the movies, but inside something was terribly wrong.

At the hospital I learned that in addition to being very sick with the flu, I was pregnant. I felt ashamed and dirty, and terrified about explaining the horrible things that my father had done to me.

The doctor asked me what I planned to do. I told him I wanted to have my baby. Despite the pain of knowing who the father of my baby was, I had seen The Silent Scream in high school and knew I could never harm the baby…

When my father heard that I was pregnant, he flew into a rage, demanding an abortion. The doctor refused because it was against my wishes, but my father was able to find another doctor who didn’t care about how I felt.

It took three nurses to hold and strap me down on the table. They tried to sedate me, but I kept screaming that I didn’t want an abortion. Eventually, I was placed under general anesthetic and my baby was killed.

I was told that my parents knew what was best for me, but I knew their only concern was hiding our family secret. After the abortion, the abuse continued. The evidence was gone and I was left with a broken heart.

It would be two more years before I would escape my abusive father. I wish I could’ve done more to save the life of my daughter. In my mind, it didn’t matter how she was conceived; she was an innocent victim, just as I was.

I know that the abortion wasn’t my fault, but I can’t help feeling the pain of losing my child. I wish I could’ve done more to fight for her life. I will never forget her.”

Letter to Julie Makimaa

Julie Makimaa Kathy Hoffmaster The Hard Cases of Abortion: A Pro-Life Response Family Research Council, 2000, 17 – 18

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Juda Myers president of Choices4Life, who works with women pregnant from rape, wrote this letter:

“Many would say abortion is necessary in cases of rape because that child will add to the trauma of the female. But that just isn’t the truth. Having spoken to almost 300 women with rape conception experiences I have found that abortion additionally traumatizes them, while giving birth begins the healing process.

I first heard that babies healed mothers pregnant after rape, from my own mother who was raped by eight men. She was forced to place me for adoption because the family and doctors pressured her to abort, completely unable to understand how a woman could want a child like me. She prayed for our reunion for 48 years and when I found her she was holding a picture of me at three months. She said my face did not remind her of her rapist’s, but reminded her that God had intervened after her attack to give her a precious baby that only He could give. She was even able to forgive her attackers.

One woman told me, “A man stole my body and society is trying to steal my baby.” Too many times people give the baby to the rapist calling them the “rapist’s baby” or “demon seeds” but another mother said speaking of her own rape conceived baby, “She was never his. She was always mine!” Society is traumatizing mothers of rape conception babies beyond the rape.

It is such an assault on humanity when society verbally, emotionally and physically attacks females who want to keep their babies conceived in rape. The pressure is many times unbearable. One 14-year-old had to be homeschooled because of the torment from her classmates. These classmates spray-painted the girls home with obscenities even though her assailant was in prison… The abuse was relentless by family, friends, law-enforcement and even healthcare workers.… It’s not the baby that is causing the trauma but those who wish to end the life of the rape conceived baby. Females are called liars because “no one wants a rapist’s baby.” The “choice” crowd doesn’t offer any choice but abortion.

A former police officer told me that she knew the crime of murder was worse than rape. She aborted her baby after rape being pressured by coworkers. “I’m worse than the rapists. They let me live but I turned on my own innocent baby… I killed my baby.” She was inconsolable. Of 14 women I’ve spoken with who aborted after rape, 12 were suicidal, three attempted and failed and the two others justify their abortions two months earlier with “it’s not a baby.” Anniversaries of the abortion will tell a different story. There are so many stories that prove giving life is better than taking it…

The mother of a 10-year-old contacted CHOICES4LIFE when her daughter was about four months pregnant. This 10-year-old is a great example of the strength of these young moms. With no complications at 11 years old she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. While she too had to be removed from school because of bullying, she returned to school and is now making straight A’s and excelling in sports. Her mother is raising the baby while the 11-year-old is happy with no regrets for choosing life. We are cheating females from having better solutions than abortion especially in cases of rape.…

The entire world sees rape conception as a curse. Some cultures kill the females for being raped and pregnant. There has never been logical thinking concerning rape conception even in the most advanced societies. Of 100 children of rape conception 98% were excelling in their contribution to society. Doctor, lawyer, humanitarian, chemist, Marines, Navy, firefighter, 10 pastors, teachers, worship leaders, professors, international speakers, and founders of nonprofits completely disproving the myth that children become the men who raped their mothers.”

Brenda Pratt-Shafer, David Shafer What the Nurse Saw: Eyewitness to Abortion (Mustang, Oklahoma: Tate Publishing & Enterprise, LLC, 2016) 120 – 122

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A woman who was raped and conceived, and chose to have her baby says:

“I have the most amazing daughter. She is perfect and beautiful in EVERY way; inside and out, I can’t even begin to express the level of kindness and love she has within her….

My daughter is smart, beautiful, helpful, compassionate, and everything that someone could wish for when having a child. She deserved the chance to live whether with me or another family. She has a lot to contribute to this world and I’m grateful I didn’t deny the world of her presence…..

Having the bright light of my daughter helped me recover from the trauma, and also to forgive those who hurt me.”

Heather Hobbs “Pregnant from rape in an abusive marriage, Heather refused abortion” Live Action News March 15, 2018

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Pat describes what happened after she was raped.

“I was in shock. I felt sickened and humiliated by what had happened. Dazed, I walked home to shower over and over. I told no one what had happened to me. Since I had voluntarily gone to the party and taken a drink, I felt the rape was my fault. I had decided to keep my ugly secret to myself, but eventually I could no longer hide my pain.

One of my friends suggested I go to Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy test and counseling. It was so impersonal and humiliating. When they confirmed my pregnancy, I began to sob uncontrollably and told them I had been raped. The counselors asked me how I would raise a baby alone and what I would do if the baby had handicaps that might result from the drug the rapist had given me.

I felt totally alone and helpless, and then the counselors became very sympathetic and offered to make arrangements to take care of this problem for me. An abortion would allow me to go on with my life. I wouldn’t have to tell anyone, I could marry my boyfriend, and things would be normal again.

Fear and pain caused me to cry during the procedure. It was nearly as humiliating as the rape itself; the doctor never even looked at me, and the nurses were courteous, but distant and coldly professional.

After the abortion, I cried for days. I suffered from horrible nightmares. When something triggered the flashbacks, it was as if I was back on the table going through the abortion again.

I couldn’t bear the sight of pregnant women or babies. I would feel overcome with grief and pain and dreamed about dead babies. Unable to maintain a job or function, I called my parents and moved back home…

In my experience, abortion only compounded the trauma and pain I was already experiencing. I was an innocent victim of the horrible crime, but in choosing to abort, to kill, the innocent child growing within me, I lowered myself to the level of the rapist. I too committed a crime against a defenseless baby who had done nothing wrong.

A criminal may have fathered the child but I was the mother, and I killed a part of myself when I had the abortion. I would definitely discourage a woman from having an abortion. While it may seem to be the quickest and easiest solution to a painful, humiliating “problem,” it is a Band-Aid approach with horrible ramifications of its own.

For me, the effects of abortion are much more far-reaching than the effects of the rape in my life.”

David C Reardon and Julie Makimaa, eds. Give Us Love, Not Abortions: The Voices of Sexual Assault Victims and Their Children (1992) 23 – 27

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A woman who is raising a daughter conceived in rape says:

“My little girl is now three years old and she is the most beautiful girl in the world!  We are (age appropriately) honest with her.  She knows that her Daddy didn’t make her, but he chose her.

She is not a “rape baby.”  She is MY baby.  She is the baby of a rape victim, and she is worthy of life.  Children like her should not be punished for the crimes of their fathers.

My daughter is truly the rainbow after the storm.”

HALYN MCGUIN “Pregnant After a Brutal Rape and Told to Have an Abortion, Here’s How I Responded” LifeNews  JAN 7, 2016

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Louise, who gave birth to a baby conceived through rape:

“Innocent life came from one man’s intent to hurt me. But my baby hasn’t hurt me. She’s provided me with healing and growth and new experiences that I never knew could happen in my life. So she’s not going to pay for what one man’s intentions were.

When people say abortion is needed in cases of rape, I feel that is very unfair. If your body has already started to create life, undoing that process seems very detrimental.

I’m so grateful I made the decision to have my daughter, because she’s brought me so much joy. Every day I wake up to a beautiful smile, and had I not made that decision, I would have been left with just a disaster on my heart.”

Fr. Mark Hodges “Pregnant after rape, Louise rejected abortion and never looked back” Live Action News October 13, 2017

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