One very brave United States Congressman, Republican Rep. Todd Akin (Mo.), has spoken on this subject, and dared to speak the truth that there are very few pregnancies that result from rape. Statistics show that there are no more than one or two pregnancies for every 1,000 rapes. From christianliferesources.com:
Let's look, using the figure of 200,000 rapes each year.
- Of the 200,000 women who were forcibly raped, one-third were either too old or too young to get pregnant. That leaves 133,000 at risk for pregnancy.
- A woman is capable of being fertilized only 3 days (perhaps 5) out of a 30-day month. Multiply our figure of 133,000 by three tenths. Three days out of 30 is one out of ten, divide 133 by ten and we have 13,300 women remaining. If we use five days out of 30 it is one out of six. Divide one hundred and thirty three thousand by six and we have 22,166 remaining.
- One-fourth of all women in the United States of childbearing age have been sterilized, so the remaining three-fourths come out to 10,000 (or 15,000).
- Only half of assailants penetrate her body and/or deposit sperm in her vagina,1 so let's cut the remaining figures in half. This gives us numbers of 5,000 (or 7,500).
- Fifteen percent of men are sterile, that drops that figure to 4,250 (or 6,375).
- Fifteen percent of non-surgically sterilized women are naturally sterile. That reduces the number to 3,600 (or 5,400)
- Another fifteen percent are on the pill and/or already pregnant. That reduces the number to 3,070 (or 4,600).
- Now factor in the fact that it takes 5-10 months for the average couple to achieve a pregnancy. Use the smaller figure of 5 months to be conservative and divide the above figures by 5. The number drops to 600 (or 920).
- In an average population, the miscarriage rate is about 15 percent. In this case we have incredible emotional trauma. Her body is upset. Even if she conceives, the miscarriage rate will be higher than in a more normal pregnancy. If 20 percent of raped women miscarry, the figure drops to 450 (or 740).
Finally, factor in what is certainly one of the most important reasons why a rape victim rarely gets pregnant, and that's physical trauma. Every woman is aware that stress and emotional factors can alter her menstrual cycle. To get and stay pregnant a woman's body must produce a very sophisticated mix of hormones. Hormone production is controlled by a part of the brain that is easily influenced by emotions. There's no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape. This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, implantation and even nurturing of a pregnancy. So what further percentage reduction in pregnancy will this cause? No one knows, but this factor certainly cuts this last figure by at least 50 percent and probably more. If we use the 50 percent figure, we have a final figure of 225 (or 370) women pregnant each year. These numbers closely match the 200 that have been documented in clinical studies.
So assault rape pregnancy is extremely rare. If we use the figure of 200, it is 4 per state per year. Even if we use a figure of 500, we're talking about only ten per state, per year. In the United States in one year, there are more than 6 million pregnancies. Roughly 3 million eventuate in live birth, 1.5 million are aborted and 500,000 miscarry. And so while each assault rape pregnancy is a tragedy for the mother (not for the baby, though), we can with confidence say that such pregnancies amount to a minuscule fraction of the total annual pregnancies in the United States. Further, less than half of assault rape pregnancies are aborted, even though that course of action tends to be vigorously pushed by those around the woman
So where am I going with all this? Rep. Akin made his comments in connection with the Romney/Ryan presidential campaign, criticizing them for favoring abortions in cases of pregnancies resulting from rape, which as we have seen, is extremely rare. Here is an article from thehill.com about the Romney/Paul's campaign's objection to Rep. Akin's comments.
Romney campaign criticizes Akin’s remarks on rape, abortion
By Meghashyam Mali - 08/20/12 06:40 AM ET
Mitt Romney's campaign on Sunday quickly condemned a comment from Republican Rep. Todd Akin (Mo.) claiming that pregnancy from rape was rare and said the presumptive GOP nominee and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), would not take steps to block abortions in cases of rape.
"Gov. Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," said Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg in a statement. [Well, Governor, you are consistent since you signed a bill while governor of Massachusetts forcing Catholic hospitals to give abortion-inducing drugs in cases of rape. But Representative Ryan, how do you stand on this since you know this is against Church teaching?]
The campaign's response came after Akin, the Republican Party's Senate candidate in the key swing state of Missouri, said that "legitimate rape" rarely resulted in pregnancy during an interview with a St. Louis television station.
Akin, in the interview, was asked to explain his opposition to abortion for pregnancies caused by rape.
"It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," he said.
Akin said later, in a statement, that he “misspoke,” claiming that his comments did not “reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year.” [This drives me absolutely crazy. Senator Akin's statement had nothing to do with lack of empathy for rape victims. He was merely stating a fact that very few rapes result in pregnancy. I wish just once that politicians had the courage of their convictions and did not bow to political correctness.]
He stood by his opposition to abortion, saying, “I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action.” [God Bless Rep. Akin for standing on the side of life at least to this extent and making what has become a very courageous statement in our culture.]The comments sparked a firestorm and will likely bring attention to both Romney's and Ryan’s positions on abortion.
Obama’s campaign, which already holds a strong edge among female voters, has made Ryan’s stance on abortion and other women’s-health issues a cornerstone of its attacks on the new GOP vice presidential pick.
“Make sure the women in your life know: Paul Ryan supports banning all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest,” read a tweet from Obama’s official Twitter account on Aug. 12, a day after Ryan was tapped for the GOP ticket.
Ryan, who is Catholic, opposes abortion except when the life of the mother is at risk and co-sponsored a bill which would define human life as beginning at the moment of fertilization. Pro-abortion-rights groups said the measure would limit access to contraception. [I am very glad that Rep. Ryan sponsored a bill defining life as beginning at fertilization (which of course will go nowhere), but Rep. Ryan is actually out of step with Catholic church teachings in supporting abortion when the mother's life is at risk. The Church condemns abortion - the deliberate killing of the baby - in all instances. The Church will allow medical procedures for the mother if the unintended result is the death of the baby. But the Church never allows the deliberate killing of the baby, which is the definition of abortion, in any instance.]
Romney also believes in exceptions for rape and incest.
Akin holds a steady lead over his Democratic opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), in the Senate race, but Sunday’s controversy raised concerns among Republicans that his remarks could inflict lasting damage on his campaign. McCaskill slammed his comments as “offensive.”
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| Kelly Wright, who began life as the result of rape |
Wright began his journalism career in 1977 while serving in the United States Army.
Wright has received numerous awards for his reporting, including two local Emmy Awards for his developing, reporting and co-producing a documentary and news series on the transatlantic slave trade.
Wright attended Oral Roberts University. He graduated with the ORU Class of 2008, and delivered the commencement address. He is married and has two sons.Here is his story from lifesitenews.com
Former Fox News Anchor’s Mother Considered Abortion after Being Raped
January 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This past Saturday, former Fox & Friends Weekend co-anchor Kelly Wright talked with Mike Huckabee on his Fox News show about his mother’s decision to give birth to him despite having conceived him in rape. Kelly made the appearance to promote his new book, “America’s Hope in Troubled Times.”
In his new book, Wright describes how his mother was raped when she was 16 years old, and how he was the result of that rape.
Calling the way he came into the world “very unique” Wright explained that in the summer of 1954 his mother had become close friends with the young wife of a pastor. One day, Wright’s mother went to her friend’s house to go shopping. However, her friend had already left, and when Wright’s mother entered the home of the pastor, he assaulted her.
Wright explained that there was nothing his mother could have done against the pastor because, “It would be her word against a reputable member of the community.”
“To make a long story short, she went ahead and continued to think that everything was okay, but then discovered she was pregnant.”
When Wright’s mother found out she was pregnant, she was offered an abortion as a means out. However, in 1954 abortions were still illegal, and Wright acknowledged that she would have been putting herself at great risk by undergoing one.
However, the primary reason Wright’s mother choose not to have him killed was her desire for children. Wright quotes his mother as having said, “This is God telling me that this may be the only biological child I have.” As it turns out, Wright’s mother was right, and Kelly would be her only biological child; Kelly’s sister was adopted.
Kelly Wright, in addition to being a correspondent for Fox News, is also now a pastor. He says, “It just shows how God was looking out for me and I had a purpose to live for.”
Mike Huckabee, a pastor himself, commented after Wright told his story, “For all of us who know you, that thought but by the grace of God and your mother having made another choice, you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“It’s the greatest affirmation for why it’s important to value every life as having worth and value. And you just have vividly demonstrated that to us.”
Kelly Wright has worked in journalism since entering the army in 1977. He has covered such stories as the Iraq war, the 2004 presidential elections, and the death of Terri Schiavo. In a profile for Fox News, Wright said the person who had the most influence in his life was his mother, June Lorraine Overton.
By Matt Anderson
Maybe if Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would talk to Kelly Wright, they might have a different opinion about abortion in cases of rape. But then again, sadly, maybe not.
Think about this: when you are aborting your child, you are also aborting your other children's brother or sister, you are aborting someone's best friend, someone's husband or wife, someone's father or mother. You are aborting all of the children and grandchildren and other descendants of your child. If Kelly Wright's mother had aborted him, she would have aborted the pastor of a church, an Emmy-award winning journalist, a service man in the US military, a husband and a father. You are never aborting a glob of tissue or even just a baby.
Think about it.
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