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Why is it that if you are the victim of sexual assault and a pregnancy results, the default response is that you should have an abortion?
Many people in the U.S. agree that abortion as a matter convenience should be made illegal, but in the case of rape most Americans believe it should remain legal. Why is it that if you are the victim of sexual assault and a pregnancy results, the default response is that you should have an abortion? I believe it’s because we can’t imagine encouraging a woman to carry a rapist’s baby to term. But the problem with that response is that it really is not in the best interest of the woman to have an abortion. We need to consider what it’s like for the woman; we need to listen to those who have been through the experience.
The following excerpt is from Nicole’s testimony that explains the truth about rape and abortion.
I want women facing this decision to know you can carry to term; you can chose adoptive parents and set your own terms. You can live without the tears, the regret, and the nights of despair -- or worse.
The abortion clinic I went to provided no verbal counseling and instead gave me a handful of papers with words I couldn’t read through my tears and shaking. The anesthesiologist told me, “It will be over soon.” She was wrong. The abortion was the beginning of the real nightmare for me.
The abortion made healing from rape infinitely more difficult by compounding the trauma. Before the abortion I cried daily. After, I shut down emotionally.
The rape and abortion made my life a living hell. I had nightmares beginning the night of the rape. Countless nights, I have woken up crying. The anguished tears I have cried are unlike any other despair I’ve ever experienced, including the death of close family members.
The rape and abortion crushed my spirit. Abortion robbed me not only of my joy -- but the essence of who I am by making me turn against my own child.
Since the rape and abortion, it has been very difficult for me to trust men. I am only married today because God sent me an incredibly gentle and patient man. I have difficulty trusting doctors. Annual exams are stressful and often painful. The subsequent births of my two sons with my husband have been very difficult because of an unnatural fear of pregnancy and childbirth.
