Legally and scripturally, do parents have the right to abort their daughter's fetus if she was raped?
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
I'm not so sure that God is against abortions in all situations. How about when He told Joshua to go into Caanan and kill every man, woman, child & infant? No doubt many of those women were pregnant as well. I'm sure God had a good reason such as He knew the people there would always be extremely evil, possibly. So, maybe there are exceptions.
I think what most do not fully understand is the involvement of the legal system into the situation. We must train, education and remove the stigma of reporting rapes! Our daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, aunts, even grandmothers, deserve to know that it's not a shame on you that you were raped, this was not something you did wrong, and the law will fight for you if you will report it immediately.
By the same token, as fathers, brothers, husbands, uncles, grandfathers, we need you to be men of courage, to stand beside us at the most horrific, terrifying, nightmarish point of our lives and encourage us to report immediately.
Once a girl/woman has been raped, if she would immediately report it to the authorities instead of hiding behind shame or fear, the process of gathering valuable information from her body will more than likely eliminate any pregnancy. The sperm would not have the time necessary to reach their destination and empregnat the egg.
I am not suggesting that the pregnancy is the girls/woman's fault, Merely pointing out that a quickly reported rape rarely leads to pregnancy.
In the event the pregnancy happens, I am a firm believer that the woman should have 9 months of solid Christian counseling to ensure that repressed feelings of hate are not transfer to the innocent child. It is up to the woman, whether or not to keep the child.
To forgive is Divine!
Be Blessed
Lena
In the Spring of 1957, a 16 year old girl was raped in Indiana. When her father, a German Baptist farmer found out, he had her move to another town to avoid family shame. (Remember, it was the 1950's, and in their family abortion was never considered an option.) She also had to sell her only cow, to help pay for this process. She endured a massive amount of trials and tribulations just so she could give this child a chance, through adoption. I am so grateful she did, as that child was me. I fulfilled my dream of thanking her by an adoption search. All the Glory belongs to God, Amen.
My Dearest Brother Zack, I applaud your diligent search for your birth mother. I was adopted as well. I know the task can be taunting. I never found my birth parents to learn the full story. However, this one thing I know, it was God's Love and Mercy that allowed me to be born (early 60's). It was His Hand that placed me with my adoptive parents to give me what I needed in life.
But the issue here is rape, and forced abortion. Should Christian parents insist on abortions for a raped child? Again, I will renew my statement, if it is reported immediately, there would not have been a pregnancy.
But, it wasn't. Now there is a baby on the way. What ever you may feel about the circumstances of the beginning of that LIFE, it is still LIFE! Are you going to insist your daughter commit MURDER? Come let us reason together, Abortion kills.
Your daughter has had the most horrific thing in the world done to her. Now, you want to force her to add to her traumatic experience by committing murder?
Call abortion what it really is! Quit giving it polite fancy names! Abortion is MURDER!
If you can not find it in your heart to love, cherish, and care for this beautiful GIFT that ALL children are, advise, (not force) your daughter to place her child into the arms of a childless couple. Trust me, they will see this child as a blessing straight from God the Father!! Even if you can not, they will.
Be Blessed,
Lena