Here is a story from a victim of incest who opposes abortion in cases of rape and incest:
She was abused by her brother and also by an older friend of the family. Here is her story in her own words:
“About three or four months after the abuse began, I was late for a period. I told my brother this, and he informed me that I “should’ve made guy wear a rubber, you idiot.” [Referring to the family friend’s abuse] I did not know what a “rubber” was, or where it was worn, or why. All I knew was that if you did not have periods, you were pregnant. And if you are pregnant, you’re in trouble.
….
[She describes going to her Sunday school teacher for help, who directed her to Planned Parenthood]
So my older brother took me to Planned Parenthood.
I had never been to a doctor without my mother, and I had never had a gynecological exam. The whole visit was terrifying. No one explained anything. I was examined, gave urine and blood samples, and was shown a chart of an egg going around a big circle marked by days of the month. I was asked questions like “frequency of intercourse?” And “method of birth control preferred?” I did not know what intercourse meant, so I just said “a lot,” and I had no idea what birth control methods existed. No one asked who my “partner” was, nor expressed any dismay, concern, or even interest that a 12-year-old girl needed a pregnancy test.
I heard a lot about “being responsible” and “taking control of my body.” Someone gave me a handful of condoms on the way out, and made a joke about being an assortment – red, blue, and yellow. The yellow ones were called Tinglers. I stuffed them in my purse, and threw them away later.
My older brother maintained a strong silence throughout the entire time – no one asked him a single question.
Two days later I received a phone call telling me the test was positive, and to come in the following Saturday morning with a sanitary napkin and a friend who could drive. The caller never used the word “pregnant” or “abortion.” I did not keep that appointment; my period started that evening.
The sexual abuse ended a couple of months later, as the family friend moved away my older brother began to abuse two younger neighborhood children instead.
It was not until three years later that I discovered, in a high school biology class, that you cannot get pregnant from oral sexual contact. I also found out what intercourse was, and that I’d never had it.
I remember the feeling of horror that came over me as I realized that I’d been scheduled for abortion.…
Over the years, I found that my story is very common in two aspects… The first is the fact that my experience with Planned Parenthood was not an aberration. The sexual attitude often championed by Planned Parenthood is a serious factor in preventing the discovery of sexual abuse of young people. Had anyone shown even the least bit of disapproval or concern, I would have divulged the truth and begged for help. Everyone around me seemed to accept as normal that a 12-year-old girl could and should be sexually active (so long as she is responsible – remember the “rainbow”!)” And remember to who took me to Planned Parenthood – an older brother with an urgent interest in my being aborted! Abortion on demand, no questions asked, makes it easier for incest and child abuse to continue. Abortion for incest victims sounds compassionate, but in practice it is simply another violent, deceptive tool in the hand of the abuser.
The other unhappy aspect of this situation is that incest, rape, and child abuse are far more common than most pro-lifers want to admit….
Abortion defenders need to realize that while abortion may keep one of the results of incest and sexual abuse from seeing the light of day it does absolutely nothing to protect a young girl from continued abuse, and, in fact aids the abuser and his crime. Furthermore, birth control counseling and abortion often indirectly contribute to the victim’s sense of shame, guilt, and blame for what is happening, since she is told to “take control” and “be responsible” for her “sexual activity,” implying that this situation is, indeed, within her power to control.”
Rachel McNair, Mary Krane Derr, and Linda Naranjo-Hubbl. Pro-Life Feminism: Yesterday and Today (New York: Sulzburger & Graham Publishing, Ltd.) 262-263
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