Deanna San Vicente expressed in a letter to the editor (“Have empathy for rape victims,” 2/3/22) her disappointment over Mayor Isko Moreno’s remarks about rape victims who become pregnant. San Vicente rightly demanded the presidential candidate to have some empathy, a call I agree with.
However, that is where our agreement ends. I am against abortion for all cases, including victims of rape and incest. Pro-abortion advocates typically use these “exceptions” to further their cause when in fact a small percentage of women who obtain an abortion are due to becoming pregnant through rape. In the US, where abortion is legal, these cases make up only 1 percent.
Going back to San Vicente’s stand, abortion is not an act of empathy for victims of rape either. She says that to carry a child conceived from rape to full term is a trauma for both mother and the child. I would argue, however, it is an even greater trauma to the unborn because he or she never sees the light of day. Abortion is the intentional killing of another human being. Once fertilized, the zygote is a separate and biologically unique human. And if an act of empathy includes the loss of human life, how can we call it such?
Rape is the first act of violence; abortion is the second. Sandra Mahkorn, a former counselor for sexual assault victims, shares that majority of rape victims who had decided to have an abortion regretted their choice, causing them additional problems. In countries where abortion is legal, the procedure is even used by sexual predators to “rid of evidence,” allowing them to continue abusing their victims. Supporting abortion is being complicit in this cycle of violence.
Abortion is not health care. It is not as simple as popping a pill. In many cases, it may involve the use of a suction machine or forceps to pull apart the fetus, limb by limb. Is that empathy?
Whether or not a child is wanted does not determine his or her right to live. The circumstances of a child’s conception do not remove his or her inherent human dignity. Why should the child be at fault? If we want to call for empathy, we do so for both the woman and the child.
Instead, let us ask our public officials to create programs that offer true support and counsel for rape victims. Resources can also be invested in crisis pregnancy centers and adoption centers. Programs that combat violence against women and children should be strengthened further, including an unfaltering effort to obtain justice for the victims. Abortion, after all, does not address the issue of rape and violence against women.
Lastly, in a society where fake news and propaganda abound, it’s easy to call out those who revise history and salivate over power. But there is also a growing movement to make one of the most morally reprehensible acts against human beings acceptable. If we are upset by corruption, dishonesty, and theft, so must we abhor an objective evil like abortion—a violent act that replaces human flourishing with human degradation. Have empathy for the unborn, too.
Carmel Arcangel, carmel.v.arcangel@gmail.com