Title: Pregnancy due to rape and incest.

POPLINE Document Number: 030148

Author(s):

Uddo BJ

Source citation:

In: Restoring the right to life. The human life amendment, edited by James Bopp Jr. Provo, Utah, Brigham Young University Press, 1984. :175-91.

Abstract:

The proposed Garn Amendment and National Right to Life Committee Amendment, which are designed to overturn the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling authorizing abortion on demand, are discussed in reference to their implications for abortion requests in rape and incest cases. These amendments are not in themselves statutes; instead, they provide a consitutional basis for states to prohibit abortion. If these amendments are passed, states will clearly have the right to pass legislation prohibiting abortion in rape and incest cases if there is knowledge that a pregnancy actually exists. The states will no only be allowed to prohibit abortions in these cases but will have a duty to protect the fetus; therefore, even if a state fails to pass prohibiting legislation, private action suits may be brought to protect the life of the fetus. At the very minimum, the amendments will ensure that public funds cannot be used to provide incest and rape related abortions. The amendments will probably be interpreted in such a way as to permit crisis treatment in rape and incest cases. For example, it is unlikely that the amendment will be able to prevent the administration of diethylstilbestrol (DES) to rape and incest victim even though this drug's primary mode of action is to prevent implantation. Since DES must be promptly administered following the rape or incest incidence, neither the victum nor the care provider can know if conception has actually occurred; therefore, it cannot be claimed that they knowingly deprived a fetus of life. Care providers would be able to argue that their intention in administering DES was to ease the mind of the victim rather than to destroy a fetus. The vigorous opposition toward any amendment prohibiting abortion in rape and incest cases is due in large measure to the public's misunderstanding of rape and incest related pregnancy. Pregnancy resulting from rape and incest is extremely rare. In rape cases the risk of pregnancy is etimated to be about 1 in 200 in the US. This low risk is due to the fact that 1) ejaculation does not occur in all cases, 2) many victims are protected from pregnancy either by birth control or by infertility, 3) the trauma of the incident itself frequently inhibits ovulation, and 4) there is only a 1 in 10 chance that the incident will occur during the 3 fertile days of the cycle. The risk of pregnancy in incest cases is now much lower than it was in the past. Incest victums currently have access to intervention programs designed to treat the problem before repeated incestuous acts lead to pregnancy. The rarity of rape and incest related pregnancies does not warrant making exceptions for these cases in the amendments. If rape and incest exceptions are written into the amendments, they could serve as a wedge to permit other exceptions. Futhermore, it is wrong to punish the fetus for a crime it did not commit, and the performing of an abortion on a rape or incest victim only leads to the the further degradation of the victim. Victims should be provided with loving care and assistance to cope with their pregnancy rather than subjected to the humiliation and guilt associated with abortion.

Keywords:

United States
North America
Abortion
Fertility Control, Postconception
Abortion Law
Legislation
Jurisprudence
Political Factors
Crime
Pregnancy, Unwanted
Social Problems
Diethylstilbestrol
Hormones
Reproductive Control Agents
Treatment
Fertility Control, Postcoital
Emergency Contraception
Americas
Developed Countries
Family Planning
Reproductive Behavior
Fertility
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Estrogens
Endocrine System
Physiology
Biology
Contraception