April, Sexual-Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual-Assault Awareness Month, and recent news from Mexico about an 11 yr. old girl, who became pregnant through rape, allegedly by her stepfather, and her decision to continue her pregnancy, has ignited a firestorm of controversy.  Some abortion advocates have argued, that the Mexican girl is too young to continue her pregnancy, and should have an abortion.

 

To counter this argument, David Reardon, founder of the Elliot Institute and contributing editor to "Victims and Victors", a book based on a survey of 192 women who became pregnant through rape or incest states, "In almost every case in which the pregnancy resulted from incest, it was the girl's parents or the perpetrator, who made the decision and arrangements for abortion, not the girl herself." None of the incest victims reported having any say in the decision. Reardon further says, "Nearly 80% of the women who had abortions said, that abortion didn't help them. Instead, many reported problems such as depression, substance abuse, broken and abusive relationships, and suicide attempts after abortion."

 

One woman, who became pregnant by her father at the age of 15, said, that she refused an abortion after she became pregnant, but at her father's request, was held down on a table and given the abortion anyway. "I was told that an abortion would solve my problem, when it was never really the problem in the first place," she wrote years later. I was told, "Your parents know what's best, when they obviously were only concerned about their own reputations." I was told, "You made the right decision, when I never was given a choice. More important, where was my baby's choice?"

 

In the book, "Victims and Victors", information is revealed, that many women who had abortions, did so, due to pressure, demands or even force.

 

During Sexual-Assault Awareness Month, the Elliot Institute is working to raise the awareness, that abortion harms rather than helps women, who become pregnant through sexual assault. More information is contained in the book, "Victims and Victors", a must read for the pro-life movement.