This is a review of Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault
Rape and incest are two of the three exceptional cases (the third being "preserving the life of the mother") that get the camel's nose into the tent of acceptance of child murder. Speaking Out gives a voice to the mothers pregnant from the violation of rape or incest and their children conceived through these crimes, demonstrating that adding one evil to another doesn't bring about good.
The book has six chapters...
devoted to the voices of women and their children:
Editor Reardon explains, "The testimonies used in this book were gathered from 192 women who became pregnant as a result of rape or incest and from 55 children conceived in sexual assault. These testimonies were collected over a nine-year period by Fortress International and the Elliott Institute." (p. 18)
The book gives many examples of the simple truth that kids conceived in rape or incest are glad to be alive! Also that mothers who became pregnant through these terrible violent crimes were not helped or healed through the murder of their babies. And thanks be to God, several of the young women and their children came to faith through the care of the body of Christ during the difficult times after their sexual assault and pregnancy!
The book also documents the darkness of those poor mothers who are counseled and dragged in to have an abortion, often for the convenience of the criminals who attacked them, but also the convenience of the friends and family. Mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers often would rather murder the innocent child in order to escape the awkwardness and difficulty of caring for the mother and her unborn child, not to mention prosecuting the criminal.
This is a helpful book although the last chapter made me uneasy...
In it Reardon counsels that we should generally argue against the abortion of children conceived by rape or incest by deflecting moral questions to "common ground" issues such as the well-being of women. Here's a representative clip from the fictitious conversation between a reporter and a pro-life woman named Jane that Reardon provides to illustrate:
Reporter: But do you think it is morally right to provide abortion in such cases [of rape or incest]?
Jane: Isn't the real question about how we can best help these women? Do you think abortion benefits these women?Reporter: Well, I wouldn't want to have a rapist's baby.
Jane: Of course not. No one wants to be raped. But the question is whether or not the abortion will make the woman's life better or worse. Isn't that what we should really be concerned about? (p. 177)
Reardon goes on to explain,
The public is ignorant of the evidence presented in this book. A flat-out statement of opposition to abortion in these cases undermines the public's perception that the pro-life legislator is reasonable and compassionate. A call for hearings so these women can speak out for themselves, on the other hand, adds to the legislators' image of being reasonable and compassionate. Hearings provide a process by which the public can be educated. They provide a basis for legislators to make decisions based on informed compassion... These stories will convert minds and hearts far more effectively than political arguments or moral reasoning. (p. 178)
And
"In light of the testimonies and survey findings in this book, the burden of proving that abortion is a good choice in these cases should fall on the pro-abortionists. Legislators should demand that they support their view by bringing forward the authentic testimony of women who become pregnant through sexual assault and who either (1) benefitted from abortion or (2) suffered from being "forced" to carry their children to term. Any such testimony, if it exists at all, should then be weighed to compare the women's testimony from both sides regarding the harm of having an abortion versus the harm of being "forced" to carry to term, and the benefits of carrying to term versus the presumed benefits of having an abortion..." (p. 179)
Reardon can be read as taking the pro-abortion media and legislators at their word that they are committed to the well-being of women, but clearly this is not true.1
Where is our faith in the word of God being living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword when we claim that these stories are "far more effective... than moral reasoning"? Where is our faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to change man's heart?
The approach Reardon and his colleagues recommend may succeed at building "the legislators' image of (those of us involved in the work of opposing abortion] being reasonable and compassionate." But I found myself wondering whether Reardon's strategy of taking confirmed liars at their word—and it is a popular one—is not doomed to fail because it assumes the failure in the public square of any attempt to testify to sin, righteousness, and judgment. Can we see this strategy as anything more than our own attempt to preserve our reputations as reasonable people who accept the banning of God from public life and discourse? We must not allow anyone to think of us as wild-eyed religious fundamentalists. If the Apostle Paul spoke of sin, righteousness, and judgment in Athens, why can't we use the slaughter of 50,000,000 unborn children (in our nation alone) as the perfect occasion to condemn sin and preach the gospel?
The fizzle in the final chapter should not obscure the great help the bulk of the book provides. At 187 pages, the book reads quickly. Being mostly the testimonies of women who have suffered terribly at the hands of criminals, portions of the text were very difficult to read and brought tears. My wife and I read the book together and found it strengthening to our resolve not to leave rape and incest victims and their children behind as we fight abortion. Read it and be strengthened, too.
This is not to mention that the pro-abortion feminist has no qualms about turning other women into murderers despite the sure and certain consequence that those women will face the Judgment Seat of God one day with the blood of their innocent little ones on their hands.
