Have empathy for rape victims

I’m not against abortion for rape victims, but I am against abortion if its purpose is to terminate an unintended pregnancy from consensual sex.

Having said that, I was displeased with how some of the presidential candidates answered Boy Abunda’s question about abortion when he recently featured each of them in separate episodes on his YouTube channel. Particularly upsetting was Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s response, where he even shamelessly compared himself (a poor garbage collector in his childhood) to a rape victim.

Mayor, you have absolutely no right to make such a comparison. Collecting garbage as a child and getting raped are two completely different circumstances. First of all, getting pregnant from rape can affect the mental state of the victim, which could endanger both her and her unborn child. Second, by not providing safe options for a rape victim, one might resort to unsafe abortion practices which could also put her life at risk.

Lucky for you, Mayor, you were able to move on from being a garbage collector. But how about the rape victims? Do you honestly think they can move on that easily from the trauma?

To force a rape victim to carry a child that she never wanted in the first place means you are forcing an unwanted child to live in a world where his/her own biological mother does not want him/her in the first place. It’s not just the trauma for the mother but for the child as well.

And please stop saying “Blessing ’yan ni Lord” to rape victims, because being a rape victim is not a blessing. Let’s have some empathy for them, Mayor.

DEANNA SAN VICENTE
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