There have been a lot of news stories today about Rep. Todd Akin’s comments suggesting that women who suffer "legitimate rape" rarely get pregnant. His choice of words has allowed all sorts of people, including President Obama, to act as if he was primarily trying to question the legitimacy of rape claims. I have no idea if he mean to do that at all or not.
But let’s not let the outrage cover up the real question that brought about this controversy. The reason Todd Akin was even speaking about this was because some reporter was trying to get the pro-life candidate to agree to an exception in his opposition of abortion. The reporter reasoned that surely if the woman is raped, Akin would have to agree that she should not have to bear the child . Surely then the woman would then have the choice to abort.
As I said, I have no idea if the representative meant at all to try to suggest that many claims of rape were illegitimate. In the context, it seems to me his real issue was that the reporter was trying to make the exception (even if every woman impregnated through rape aborted the child it would still account for only 2% of abortions in this country) into the rule.
Rape is awful. I know of those who have experienced it. It affects them their whole life. But does that mean that we should allow an exception to our stance against abortion in that case? Here let us revert back to the wisdom of our moms, “Two wrongs do not make a right.†Will it be tough to carry a child that was not desired and has a rapist as the father? I can even imagine how tough. Will it be tough to raise that child or give them up for adoption? Again, how could I even begin to act as if I know? But this I do know. The answer is not the murder of the child. Two violent acts do not make a right. Let’s not add a murder to the rape and see if that make all things right. It will not. Instead let us gather every possible help and aid around the woman who finds herself in this place.
Realize that most of those who want to make an exception for rape are just trying to find the exception that they can work into the rule. If rape gives women a choice, then why not other difficult situations? Ultimately, why shouldn’t each woman be free to do what she wants with the child inside of her. It is simply her property to keep or discard.
We must stand firm with this rule: you shall not murder. And we must gather in love around those who must hold firm to the rule in the most unthinkable of situations.
