Removing the rape and incest exceptions for abortion

Pro-lifers will gather tomorrow in Washington, D.C., to march for life. Jan. 22, 2015, marks the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court legalized the convenience killing of unborn babies incapable of living outside their mothers’ wombs.

Also tomorrow, pro-life lawmakers will bring to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions 20 weeks after fertilization. The measure is based on the belief that these babies are capable of feeling the pain of their slaughter. Although most abortions occur in the first trimester, the bill is a step in the right direction. But it contains compromises I believe undermine its premise.

I oppose the termination of pregnancies even in cases of rape and incest. I can’t say the same about danger to the mother’s life. Humans have a survival instinct and a natural right to protect their own lives. Risking my life, guided by faith, to save my baby is one thing; it’s a different matter for me to persuade others to risk their lives. Self-preservation, the drive to stay alive, is not the same or even similar to wanting to avoid the emotional, financial, and/or physical inconvenience of being pregnant, raising a child, or giving him up for adoption.

H.R. 36 includes the danger-rape-incest exceptions and attempts to safeguard against women falsely claiming rape so they can abort at this stage of their pregnancy. Pregnant women who conceive via rape (or minors via incest) can kill their babies if the rape or incest “has been reported” (note the passive language) before the abortion to the appropriate law enforcement or government agency.

If we ban abortions 20 weeks after fertilization because these voiceless and vulnerable little humans seem to experience and react to pain, do they feel no pain if they’re conceived in rape or incest? It’s difficult to wrap your mind around the reasoning. Is there something different about these babies? Why disregard their pain based on the circumstances of their conception? Is human life precious only if the baby came to exist during a consensual and pleasurable experience?

Lawmakers should remove the rape-incest exceptions. Rebecca Kiessling, conceived in rape and almost aborted, writes:

“Can you imagine if Congress introduced a bill stating that a rapist could be put to death—just with the requirement that a rape be ‘reported’?! But according to the U.S. Supreme Court, rapists don’t deserve the death penalty, and even for child molesters, it’s ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’ Yet, the Congressional GOP will summarily issue the death penalty to the innocent child.”

Do you think God would understand the woman’s choice to kill her own child because someone brutally raped her? We know He’d forgive her for snuffing out a precious life if she asks for forgiveness, turns away from sin, admits that she needs a Savior, and believes that Savior suffered horribly on the cross in her place.

And He’d do the same for the rapist.