In Case of Rape
There are stories everyday about rape. One recently grabbed my attention.
It is the story of a 16 year old girl, raped by a married, 21 year old man. She apparently hid her pregnancy for more than four months from her parents. The man is in jail. He is alive and well and the State of Gujarat, in the northwestern part of India.
There isn’t a great deal of information in the article. So, I have questions. The rapist was not killed, but protected and provided for by law. Why would the same society want to kill the innocent child of the criminal? The petition was submitted by her father on her behalf. Did she want this? She wasn’t found to be pregnant until she was 18 weeks along. Surely she knew she was pregnant. Why did the doctors at the hospital ask for a judicial hearing? The judge ordered a medical exam to see if it could be done safely. Was this girl even asked about her will?
Thankfully, the girl and her baby were protected by the law, The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971. She suffered a rape, but will be spared abortion. There will be a rough road ahead for her, no doubt.
I will keep her in my prayers. I don’t know what the culture in her circles will do: how they will treat her, if they will welcome the baby, if she will ever be able to realize her dreams. I know that she is courageous and I know God has a hope and a future for her. I hope she knows that too.
The rape exception is cruel and illogical. Recently, there was a lot of debate about a bill that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks, because it has been shown that babies of this age are clearly able to feel pain. All the big prolife groups were behind it, spending time, energy and money to make people aware and promote it to legislators.
For a while, it was getting traction, then someone introduced exceptions. So, babies may not be killed after 20 weeks because they can feel pain. Somehow, though, it is permissible to kill a baby conceived by rape or incest. Same gestational age, relatively all the same attributes, but because of the crime of their fathers, some babies are not worth protecting.
This punches logic in the face. If only some are protected, then none are really protected. We must fight to protect our fellow humans
with truth. Truth is solid, it is not moral relativism, wishy washy, touchy feely. It’s Truth.
If babies at 20 weeks should be protected because we know they feel it when they are brutally killed, then let’s be consistent. Protect them all.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/hc-denies-abortion-to-a-minor-rape-victim-on-legal-grounds-113090600986_1.html