Abortion after Rape
Rape involves the act of forcing someone to have sex despite them not willing or comfortable with it. Most cases involve men forcing the women although there have been situations where it’s the complete opposite. The victim may get pregnant or contract fatal diseases like HIV/AIDS and STDs. In case the woman gets pregnant, most people tend to pressure her into keeping the baby despite the horrible way in which it was conceived. The whole issue leads to many viewpoints ranging from what is right by the society, religion, beliefs and its consequences on the victim. Abortion involves removing the life of the fetus although a lot of individuals do not agree with it. The essay shall support my opinion of abortion after a rape incident.
In reference to Debate.org (2016), most rape victims are young girls and women who have a lot to achieve regarding their education and enjoying life as teenagers and as single women before getting married eventually. So, is it reasonable to leave a twelve-year-old girl who has been raped to carry on the pregnancy? Why do you call yourself a loving person if you can force a young woman to carry and give birth to a baby of the man he does not know or love? These are some of the questions the pro-abortionists need to answer. The reason why most people reach the wrong conclusion about abortion is that they think about the unborn baby and completely forget about the mother who has been abused and violated leaving her in more pain than the fetus.
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According to Francis (2016), rape has very many negative attributes to the victim. Most women who undergo abuse are likely to be virgins and having a first sexual encounter in a violent manner is not only very painful, but it’s also traumatizing. Naturally, the victim feels dirty and damaged a feeling which cannot be erased promptly. The incident affects the girl psychologically, and in case she doesn’t get counseling, it may result in serious mental problems. For example, the victim may think of harming herself by committing suicide among other things. It’s no secret that there have been cases of the victims killing themselves because they cannot handle the trauma. Hence, if the girl can do that, imagine how it would be if she were forced to carry a pregnancy (Francis, 2016).
There are many reasons why abortion after rape is advocate. For example, have you ever seen individuals who are against abortion offer any help to the rape victim such as money or offering to adopt it once it’s born? Instead, one just sympathizes with the victim, and as time passes on, they gradually withdraw from her leaving her to deal with the pregnancy and herself. In some instances, even the family members find it hard to cope with the situation (Reardon, 2013). Thus, in the end, the victim ends up all alone with an unborn baby of a stranger. To prevent such situations, it’s better to undergo the procedure at the early stages.
Having the baby will make the victim associate herself with bad luck and unfortunate events. For instance, a 16-year-old girl who may choose to give birth and then go back to school will be teased and stigmatized by her schoolmates, making her feel alone, abandoned and depressed. Such a woman will not find it easy to relate with males, let alone be in a relationship with them. Similarly, the young mother will pass her frustrations to the baby (Reardon, 2013). At least, in one instance, we have heard or experienced cases of such victims being violent and cruel to the children born out of rape because they blame their failures.
On the same note, why do the pro-lifers support capital punishment which is also murder as they claim for an unborn child whose fate you don’t know? It’s hypocritical for one to support one type of death and be against the other. The child can grow up to become a social misfit, for example, he or she can be a thief, terrorist or a liar. On the other hand, the child may be physically and mentally challenged thus in need of special care. I don’t have to tell you how it will be a challenging task for a baby to take care of another child (Weiner, 2013).
Not all women desire or want to have children as the society dictates. Instead, some have decided to focus on building their careers or do other activities which don’t need them to have children. Therefore, it’s absurd that people expect a pregnant woman, for that matter one who has been forced to a sexual relationship to be stuck with an unwanted baby. Why should the life of the victim drastically change overnight if there are ways to prevent that from happening? Terminating the pregnancy is the only choice to ensure that one’s dreams and ambitions are not shattered (Finer & Fine, 2013).
We should think of the future. For instance, what will happen when the child later learns that he or she is the result of rape? The child is likely to feel guilty for all the problems her mom has gone through (Perry, et.al, 2015).Therefore he or she is likely to undergo depression and possibly contemplate suicide. Then, why is the mother not allowed to abort it to prevent future problems?
Another argument is that life starts after birth since babies do not know or feel anything while in the womb. Real life begins when the baby is born. Hence, there is no harm in doing abortion. Equally, who are humans to decide that abortion is not okay according to religion? There is no place in the Bible where it says that people should keep babies conceived without love. Besides, why would God allow a woman to be raped for her to give birth?
Rape is a horrible ordeal that no woman or man should experience. Since it happens, it results in many problems among them unwanted pregnancies. In my view, such pregnancies need to be aborted although the actual victim has the final say on what to do with the pregnancy.
References
Finer, L., & Fine, J. B. (2013). Abortion law around the world: progress and pushback. American journal of public health , 103 (4), 585-589
Perry, R., Murphy, M., Haider, S., & Harwood, B. (2015). “One problem became another”: Disclosure of rape-related pregnancy in the abortion care setting. Women's health issues , 25 (5), 470-475.
Reardon, D. (2013). Rape, Incest and Abortion: Searching Beyond the Myths. Elliot Institute. After Abortion org
Weiner, R. H. (2013). Perceptions of Rape Victims: Rape, Pregnancy, and Abortion in Akin's' Legitimate'America.
Francis J. Beckwith.(2016). Abortion and Rape: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights - Christian Research Institute . Christian Research Institute . Retrieved 30 September 2016, from http://www.equip.org/article/abortion-and-rape-answering-the-arguments-for-abortion-rights/
Debate.org,. (2016) . Should abortion be legal in cases of rape and incest? Retrieved 30 September 2016, from http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-abortion-be-legal-in-cases-of-rape-and-incest
