Typically, both sides of the debate accept the presumption that women with sexual assault pregnancies would want an abortion and that the abortion would in some way help them to recover from the assault.

The reason most people reach the wrong conclusion about abortion in cases of rape and incest is that the actual experiences of sexual assault victims who became pregnant are routinely left out of the debate. Most people, including sexual assault victims who have never been pregnant, are therefore forming opinions based on prejudices and fears which are disconnected from reality.

For example, it is commonly assumed that rape victims who become pregnant would naturally want abortions. But in the only major study of pregnant rape victims ever done, Dr. Sandra Mahkorn found that 75 to 85 percent chose against abortion. This evidence alone should cause people to pause and reflect on the presumption that abortion is wanted or even best for sexual assault victims.

We must also recognize that the children conceived through sexual assault have a voice which deserves to be heard as well. Many women and men conceived by an act of rape work diligently against the perception that abortion is acceptable or even necessary in cases of sexual assault. While sympathetic to the suffering their mother endured at the hands of her attacker, people conceived in rape are rightfully proud of their mother’s courage and generosity.

“Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.” –Deuteronomy 24:16

Once a person sees that the Bible clearly teaches that it is wrong to kill a child for the crime of his or her father, that frees the person to get beyond the cliché and look more closely at the actual result of abortion for incest. Because it is wrong to kill the child for the crime of the father, there are other terrible consequences, including that abortion for rape and incest emboldens those criminals and increases such crimes against women. Abortion for incest is cruel, as for example, Planned Parenthood abortionists cover up the crime of incest, and typically send the victim back home to her rapist. Even worse, they often send her home with her rapist, the same criminal who brought her to the clinic to dispose of the “evidence” and help him get away with his crime. Abortion for incest actually emboldens a criminal to rape his young relative and allows him to repeat his crime over and over.  This is not compassionate because it kills a baby and increases the woman’s suffering.

“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son… the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” –God, Ezekiel 18:20

Of course incest is a particular kind of rape, and the same scriptural teaching, here as spoken by God Himself, condemns all such punishment of the child for the crime of the father. This principle as recorded by the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel explains that a good man would love and protect the baby, but instead many lawyers and others will treat the rapist with respect and protect him, but kill the baby.

When you ask a person who was conceived in rape, they have nothing but love and gratefulness for their mothers.

Calling an innocent baby in the womb, “the rapist’s child” has sexist and eugenic implications. Pro-life activist, Rebecca Kiessling, who herself was conceived in rape, states emphatically that she is not the rapist’s baby, but her mother’s child.

Many pro-life activists, especially politicians, will attempt to point out the fact that abortions for rape and incest only make up less than 1% of all abortions and are therefore only a tool used to convince people to be “pro-choice.”

While this is true, the reality is that many children are, in fact, conceived in rape.  Contrary to what most people assume, a majority of the victims of sexual abuse who become pregnant from the abuse, actually choose to give birth to their children.  

Pro-life politicians who choose to give up on the right to life of the 1% of children who are conceived in rape are not only agreeing to condemn thousands of children to death, but they are also weakening the fundamental value that underpins the entire pro-life cause, namely, that all innocent life is precious.

• Speak at events around the world where they don’t have the funds to bring in pro-life speakers;
• Accept invitations to debate pro-choice leaders at key university campuses where very limited stipends are offered;
• Travel to testify before legislatures and hold press conferences;
• Provide training to our Save The 1 pro-life speakers and bloggers;
• Have a strong presence at the annual March For Life in D.C. and the March in San Francisco;
• Have a presence with Save The 1 booths at pro-life conferences and rallies;
• Maintain our website and increase our web presence;
• Produce a line of  Save The 1 pamphlets, addressing all of the “hard cases;”
• Self-publish a book in the future with chapters from each of our speakers;  and
• Produce additional videos with stories which represent “the least of these.”