There has been a large amount of conversation on the topic of abortion within the media recently, mostly as a result. Both pro-life and pro-choice advocates are speaking out about the issue and stating their cases for or against the medical procedure.
Many pro-life advocates have stated that, although they completely disagree with abortion in its entirety, they understand it in cases of rape. Although this opinion does not extend to everyone who is pro-life, some understand why a woman would seek an abortion following pregnancy from rape.
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However, creating an exception for pregnancies from rape is still inadequate in terms of ending an unwanted pregnancy. Due to the nature of rape, especially in the current atmosphere of the nation, it can be difficult to define what a “rape” pregnancy is.
To truly prove that pregnancy was the result of rape, a woman would have to prove first to a court that she was truly raped. This process by itself is long and difficult and often unsuccessful; at least 97% of rapist will never see time in jail, let alone punishment for their crimes. If a woman cannot even prove she was raped when she was, she is unable to seek out an abortion. On the other hand, if the woman is successful and proves her rape to the court, it is likely that the process will last longer than the window of time she has to have an abortion during her pregnancy.
This example is based on women reporting their rape; 16% of rapes go unreported every year. Many women feel ashamed that they were raped, or feel that nobody will believe them if they speak up. This will not change just because she becomes pregnant as a result of rape; it is more likely that she will seek out an illegal abortion than to report the rape if this is the case.
Many people have an image in their head that rape is a man hiding in a dark alley with a knife, or the boy in the party slipping a drug into a drink. But rape can be anybody; a close friend, a well-liked authority figure, a boyfriend, a husband, a family member.
If there was not a stigma surrounding rape within our culture, perhaps more rapists would see justice and women would be believed when they were brave enough to speak up. We currently live in a nation that has a man who has been accused of sexual assault as its figurehead, in addition to a rape culture that makes it difficult for victims to be open or be taken seriously. With all these factors in place, allowing abortion in incidents of rape is too vague of a law to make.
It should not be in a judicial system’s hands to determine if a woman was raped or not; that is her decision alone. It should also not be in a government's hands to determine if a woman is allowed to have a safe abortion; she should be free to make decisions regarding her own body on her own.
