Brian Jenkins

This is the third in a series examing the logical fallacies pro-choicers make when justifying their position. The previous two were:

1. Abortion frees a child from having to live in an abusive environment; and
2. "I'm opposed to abortion, but respect the woman's righ to choose."

A third justification is:

3. It is unfair to have a woman carry to term a child conceived as the result of a rape or incest.

This subject is the topic of a current news story. The latter profiles two rape victims - one advocating for the woman's right to choose while the second is pro-life. Yet there is an important difference in the two for the latter, unlike the first, conceived a child as a result of the rape.

Also, since the story appeared this past Friday, November 18, a string of thought-out comments on both sides of the issue have been posted. For example, Kris, an alias we learn, argues that she aborted following her rape because of the lack of support system available to her. Further she argues that it is unfair that to hold women to keep the child for the full term. 

Her comments are met by several writers who posit strong counter-arguments. "Beckwith24" and "Veritas" move the dialog away from the wishes of the mom to the violence done on the unborn. "DanielJ" brings up the topic of adoption, which meshes well with the lead story as this is what the second rape victim did and is glad for having done so.

The topic of adoption figures centrally in a study done by the Elliot Institute. In one of their publications - "Victims and Victors," it reports upon 192 woman who conceived following a rape or incest, 69% carried the child to term and 80% of these are happy for having done so.

Of those who aborted, nearly 80% reported that it was not the right solution and only increase the trauma they were experiencing.

Read more about the Elliot Institute's reseach here.