Choice? or Forced?
"Governor Palin....I should have a choice about this"
posted by MissLaura on Daily Kos, Thu Oct 16, 2008 at 09:20:10 AM PDT
This ad ran once on MSNBC (on the cable system in Washington DC) immediately after the debate. No one else saw it. It deserves broader attention.
posted by Fred Dodsworth at 11:41 AM
3 Comments:
This video clip is very powerful emotionally, but I'm afraid it is pretty offbase rationally.
First, let me state right up front, that I firmly believe rape is a horrible thing & recognize that it is something nearly every woman fears, & furthermore, cannot state strongly enough that a woman who experiences that nightmare needs all the compassion & support that society can give her.
The problem, however, is with this unquestioning assumption that abortion is the best compassion & support we can give her.
It helps to understand the rape victim's trauma if you recognize the aggressor/victim parallel of this situation.
Look at the originating situation:
The rapist had a choice - to rape or not to rape. His victim had no choice - she was forced to endure what he inflicted on her.
Unfortunately, nature will do what's natural regardless of the circumstances, so in a (thankfully) minute number of cases (1-2 per 1000 according to Nat. Crime Victim Report, US Justice Dept. Aug. 95, R. Bachman, a victim may end up pregnant.
The victim has a choice - to kill the baby or not to kill the baby. The baby has no choice - he or she will be forced to endure whatever mode of death the abortionist chooses to inflict on him or her.
This exchange of roles from innocent victim of an aggressor to aggressor of an innocent victim is not lost on the suffering woman.
It is at the root of why women who abort following rape have more trouble finding psychological & emotional healing than the women who carry the baby to term.
We need to stop making assumptions about these cases and actually talk to women who have lived this. They know their pain far better than the people using them to further an agenda.
We especially need to look at the aftermath as many in this group have stated that they had been persuaded abortion would help, only to discover that it made things worse. (It allowed those around them to more easily put the victim's traumas out of their mind, however)
In research that has been done on this subject (Mahkorn & Dona, "Sexual Assault & Pregnancy." In New Perspectives on Human Abortion, University Publishers of Amer., 1981, pp. 182-199 Mahkorn, "Pregnancy & Sexual Assault." In Psychological Aspects of Abortion, University Publishers of Amer., 1979, pp. 53-72), it was found that the women's biggest issue following rape "Perhaps, surprisingly, it is not the fact that she is pregnant. Her chief complaint is "how other people treat her."
"This should be very sobering to everyone. How is she treated? Do others understand the trauma she has experienced, and love and support her? Or, do they avoid her and act as if it was partly her fault, or worse? Just think, if all such victims were given generous love and support, many more than at present would carry their babies to term."
Here is a little more info about the subject from the clinical perspective & the victims' perspectives -
Rape, Incest, & Abortion: A Glimpse Behind the Myths
Rape and Incest Victims Don't Want Abortion, Say It Doesn't Help Women
Oh and even though it is mentioned in those links I provided, it really needs to be emphasized that abortion in the case of incest allows the perpetrator to avoid being caught & to continue the abuse.
Abortion: The Second Rape
grace77x7: first off NOBODY is saying that rape victims should have abortions or that it is in their best interest in all circumstances. what we are saying is that it should be her CHOICE to continue the pregnancy or not. your statement that if she aborts she will then be the aggresors is insulting to rape victims that have made that choice. the last thing a rape victim needs is to be made to feel guilty about anything she did or didnt do. yes abortion is traumatic for many women but not all women suffer emotionally because of it. some honestly would fair worse if they carried to term. to deny choice for a rape victim is to rape her again by removing control over her body by forcing gestation upon her. pregnancy is a grueling physically taxing experience and birth is not like breaking a fingernail. to force this upon an unwilling woman is tantamount to torture which is much worse than terminating a half inch non-sentient parasite with no interest in self protection to begin with. it is easy for outsiders to look in on a situation and think that they know what is best for others. but the truth of the matter remains. you are not the one that was raped and you are not the one who has to experience this firsthand so it is not your perojative to make the decision for another woman.
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