Rape

There is an old saying that "hard cases make bad law". Using hard cases is a common method of fighting issues and has been used on both sides of the abortion controversy.

In almost every country where abortion has been legalised, the so-called "hard cases" of foetal deformity (eugenics), rape and incest have been used to drive law reform. Aabortion, performed for any of the "hard case" reasons, only contributes one percent or less of total abortions.

In February 2005, following a radio programme in New Zealand that dealt with abortion, the issue of rape was brought up. A caller phoned with the story about a relative aged 13-years who was pregnant following rape by two men. A family meeting was called, including extended family members, where the adults discussed the "problem" and eventually decided that it would be best for the girl to have an abortion.

At this point, an elder said that while he had heard many family members have their say, he had yet to hear what the girl herself wanted to do. She stated quite clearly, in response, that she wanted to have the baby because it was the only "light" in the ugliness that had happened to her.

Innocent child
Some women, like the 13-year old mentioned, believe that their child"s life may have some special purpose. Victims of assault may have a sense of the value of life and respect for others is heightened.

"I soon discovered that the aftermath of my abortion continued a long time after the memory of my rape had faded. I felt empty and horrible. Nobody told me about the pain I would feel deep within causing nightmares and deep depressions. They had all told me that after the abortion I could continue my life as if nothing had happened."

 

Rape is not something a civilised society feels comfortable dealing with and when pregnancy is a result of rape, abortion is all too often seen as a way of dealing with "the problem."

Another story given by Reardon is that of Kathleen DeZeeuw:

In having an abortion to cover up the fact she was raped, the woman is destroying DNA evidence that would identify the rapist.

Opponents to abortion say that when it comes to rape, it is often the rapist"s innocent child that pays for the crime with its life.

Abortion following rape may add to the shame the woman feels, becoming one more thing that may not be spoken about. Read The Big Secret

Statutory rape

Where there are no laws requiring that parents of underage girls have to be notified prior to an abortion, it is common for these young girls to secretly obtain an abortion, and then be sent on their way. In order to protect their "privacy" they are permitted to return to the same potentially exploitive situation.

Section 37 of New Zealand"s Care of Children Bill provides for children and teenagers to undergo an abortion without parental knowledge or consent. This was passed into law despite the fact that 70 percent of those surveyed were in favour of parental notification.

Research in the U.S. has revealed that many teenage girls are being sexually exploited and impregnated by adult men rather than boys their own age. It is estimated that two-thirds of births to teenage girls nationwide are fathered by adult men age 20 or older. 4

A review of California"s 1990 statistics found that men older than high school age sired 77 percent of all births to high school-aged girls (ages 16-18) and 51 percent of births to junior high school-aged girls (15 and younger). Men over age 25 fathered twice as many teenage births as did boys under age 18, and men over age 20 fathered five times more births to junior high school-aged girls than did junior high school-aged boys. 5

Planned Parenthood"s research wing, the Alan Guttmacher Institute, cited in its 1994 report, "Sex and America"s Teenagers,"  that six of 10 girls who had sex before age 15 were coerced by males an average of six years their senior.

In NZ, there is no mandatory obligation for school counsellors or medical professionals to report a case of rape.

In New Zealand, there is no mandatory obligation for school counsellors or medical professionals to make an official report in cases where they know, or suspect, statutory rape has taken place. These young girls are thus denied both the protection of their parents and the law.

The current trend of adult men impregnating teenage girls is seen as a consequence of family breakdown and its subsequent effects on culture and the law. Many girls who indulge in early sexual activities live in a home where the biological father is absent.

The absence of the biological father, in fact, has been found to be one of the main indicators of teenage pregnancy.

References:

1. Mahkorn, "Pregnancy and Sexual Assault," The Psychological Aspects of Abortion, eds. Mall & Watts, (Washington, D.C., University Publications of America, 1979) 55-69.
2. Francke, The Ambivalence of Abortion (New York: Random House, 1978) 84-95, 167.; Reardon, Aborted Women - Silent No More (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1987), 51, 126.
3. Zakus, "Adolescent Abortion Option," Social Work in Health Care, 12(4):87 (1987).
4. Mike Males and Kenneth S.Y. Chew, "The Ages of Fathers in California Adolescent Births, 1993," American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 86, No. 4, April 1996, pp. 565-568.
5. Mike Males, "Poverty, Rape, Adult/Teen Sex: Why "Pregnancy Prevention" Programs Don"t Work," Phi Delta Kappan, January 1994, pp. 407-410.
6.