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Pregnancy from Rape Can Seem to Addition, 10.9 Percent of U.S

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Pregnancy from Rape Can Seem to Addition, 10.9 Percent of U.S courages all victims from reporting rape, encourages isolation, and causes women to tive feelings and fears. Of those who continued 4 M. Planty et al., note 2. 5 their pregnancy, two-thirds developed more posi- C. Tietze, “Probability of pregnancy resulting from a single unpro- conceal signs of victimization. Because pregnan- tected coitus,” Fertility and Sterility 11: 5 (1960) 485-488. cy cannot be hidden, the mentality of blaming tive feelings toward their unborn child as the 6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “National Survey the victim only encourages resort to abortion. pregnancy progressed. Their feelings of self- Family Growth 2006-2010,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg.htm (accessed May esteem and contentedness improved during the 14, 2013). Response to pregnancy pregnancy, while anxiety, depression, anger and 7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “National Survey fear decreased. Family Growth 2006-2010,” note 6; Guttmacher Institute, Rape victims may respond in a variety of ways “Contraceptive Use in the United States,” http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_contr_use.html (accessed May on learning they are pregnant—anger, fear, The abortion rate among rape victims (50 per- 14, 2013). anxiety, depression, complacency and anything cent) is not substantially higher than among all 8 L.B. Finer et al., “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: else you can imagine. Family and friends often Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives,” Perspectives on Sexual women who report an “unintended pregnancy” and Reproductive Health 37:3 (2005), feel helpless or are uncomfortable and embar- (40 percent).10 The majority of those who http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005.html (accessed rassed. Advice such as “You have to put this May 14, 2013). decided against abortion chose to raise their 9 S. Mahkorn, “Pregnancy and Sexual Assault,” in The behind you” and “It’s best not to dwell on what child, while a small percentage opted for adop- Psychological Aspects of Abortion (Washington, DC: University happened” may make recovery particularly dif- tion.11 A study of 164 such women found that Publications of America, 1979) 55-69. ficult for a pregnant rape victim. Such advice 10 Guttmacher Institute, Abortion in the United States: Quick Stats, the majority of those who had abortions regret- http://www.guttmacher.org/media/presskits/abortion-US/statsand- does not express empathy for the victim, nor ted having done so and said the abortion facts.html (accessed May 14, 2013). 11 respect for the child in the event of pregnancy. caused them additional problems.12 By con- M. Holmes et al., “Rape-related pregnancy: Estimates and descriptive characteristics from a national sample of women,” trast, among those who delivered a child con- American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 175:2 (1996) The abortion solution? 320-5. ceived by rape, satisfaction was higher and 12 13 D. Reardon, “Rape, Incest and Abortion: Searching Beyond the Abortion advocates perpetuate the myth that none stated any regret for having given birth. Myths,” Elliot Institute. AfterAbortion.org (accessed May 14, pregnant rape victims generally desire abor- 2013). Abortion, therefore, is not an inevitable choice. 13 D. Schroeder, “My Rape Pregnancy and My Furor Over Social tion, and this makes it difficult for women to The loving support of family, friends and coun- Myths,” Elliot Institute. AfterAbortion.org, choose the life-giving alternative for their http://afterabortion.org/2012/my-rape-pregnancy-and-my-furor- selors can make a huge difference. child. We must not forget that pregnant rape over-social-myths/ (accessed May 14, 2013). victims aren’t suddenly separated from the Sandra Mahkorn, MD, MPH, MS is a family physi- person they were before the rape—they bring cian and former counselor for sexual assault victims. to this difficult journey their beliefs, their She has a diverse professional background that sense of right and wrong and everything else includes patient practice, healthcare administration, that they are. public health and public policy. In a survey I conducted of counseling agencies 1 A. Groth et al., “Rape: Power, Anger, and Sexuality,” American assisting women with problem pregnancies, Journal of Psychiatry 134:11 (1977) 1239-1243. 2 therapists identified 37 women who had S. Grohmann et al., “Sexual Assaults in Wisconsin 1995,” Wisconsin Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities Office of Justice Assistance Statistical Analysis Center (1996); M. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reported a rape-related pregnancy. Of them, Planty et al., “Female Victims of Sexual Violence 1994-2010,”Office 3211 Fourth Street NE • Washington, DC 20017-1194 of Justice Programs. U.S. Department of Justice, http://bjs.gov/con- 28 continued their pregnancy, 5 chose abor- Tel: (202) 541-3070 • Fax: (202) 541-3054 9 tent/pub/pdf/fvsv9410.pdf (accessed May 14, 2013). tion and 4 were lost to follow up. Many 3 Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Violent Crime,” Office of Justice Website: www.usccb.org/prolife women in this study initially had strong nega- Programs. U.S. Department of Justice (2013), http://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=31 (accessed May 14, 2013). Models used for illustrative purposes only. © Veer Images. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2013, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. 1342 A rape victim becoming pregnant—what situ- ation could be more emotionally charged Frequency of pregnancy related to rape: than that? The number and percent of pregnancies result- ing from rape is frequently overstated. There Even among those who are pro-life, some indi- are two main reasons why relatively few rapes viduals are tempted to condone aborting chil- result in pregnancy. The average rate of preg- dren conceived from rape out of a natural nancy from a single act of unprotected sexual empathy for the rape victim. Rape is an evil intercourse ranges from 2 to 4 percent.5 In act. Since pregnancy from rape can seem to addition, 10.9 percent of U.S. women of child- compound and prolong the victim’s anguish, bearing age are infertile6 and over 41 percent some believe that abortion will permit the rape have undergone surgical sterilization or are victim to begin healing earlier. using a continuous form of contraception, reducing (though not eliminating) the likeli- Abortion advocates exploit this compassion, hood of pregnancy.7 A survey of U.S. women’s pointing endlessly to the “need” for abortion reasons for choosing abortion found that only in the case of pregnancy from rape. Because one percent reported “rape” as a reason and abortion is already legal for any reason, their less than one half of one percent reported that real purpose is to marginalize and malign those rape was the main reason.8 who are consistent in their pro-life beliefs—by characterizing them as insensitive and rigid. It is important to bear in mind, however, that But this rhetoric perpetuates falsehoods that we are dealing not with a statistical issue, but a can further harm pregnant rape victims. unwanted violation of a human being, a bru- Prevalence and reporting: According to the human one. tal exertion of power and control over National Crime Victimization Survey (a large As a primary care physician and a former another person. Power, not sexual desire, household survey of over 146,000 individuals There are no “typical” victims counselor for sexual assault victims, I have drives the assailant.1 Victimizers can be hus- over age 12), designed to capture reported found that those who see abortion as the bands, boyfriends, family members and and unreported crimes, there were 143,300 There is no “normal” reaction to rape. As with inevitable or best response in these cases are acquaintances. Stranger rape is estimated to completed “rape and sexual assault victimiza- other highly traumatic experiences, an individ- often uninformed. They are misled by destruc- represent only between 8 and 20 percent of tions” against females in the U.S. in 2010. ual’s response is unpredictable. A myriad of tive and dehumanizing stereotypes about rape, all acts of rape.2 That means an assault for every 1,000 reactions—depression, anger, anxiety, fear of about victims of rape and about the outcome females age 12 and older. The rate was high- retaliation, guilt, desire for revenge, humilia- of rape-related pregnancy. Biases and stereo- The U.S. Department of Justice defines rape est among women under age 35. The great tion, disbelief—are some of the short-term and typing contribute to further traumatizing vic- as: “Forced sexual intercourse including both majority of victims were related to or in a long-term psychological reactions to rape. tims of rape. Each of us can help rape victims psychological coercion as well as physical relationship with their attacker. Only slightly choose life. force. Forced sexual intercourse means pene- Unfortunately, many people are still quick to over one-third reported the attack to police. blame the victim. “How could you have been tration by the offender(s).” Sexual assault, in Eleven percent of assaults were associated Facts and fallacies contrast, includes a wide range of unwanted so naïve as to trust him?” “I told you hanging with a weapon. Injuries, ranging from gunshot around bars and staying out late would lead to Definition: Rape is not a sex crime. It is a sexual contact or verbal threats that may or wounds to minor bruises and cuts, were report- may not involve force.3 trouble.” “You send the wrong message with crime of violence—a deeply personal and ed by 58 percent of victims. Only 35 percent of the way you dress.” Blaming the victim dis- those with an injury sought treatment.4.
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