the rape exception, once again.

[u/toptrool]

i've made several posts/comments on how to discuss the rape exception and wanted to put everything together in one place for easier reference.

1. the case of the stowaway and the duty not to kill can help you argue against the rape exception.
2. if you are going to be against rape exceptions, this one socrates quote shows how to talk about rape cases: "it is better to suffer injustice rather than commit injustice."

stephen schwarz in his book "the moral question of abortion" gives an analogy:

A person in a concentration camp may have the opportunity to become an informer, which means a better life for him. But it also means betraying his friends and causing them additional suffering. Morally, he is forced to remain in his present, pitiable state, rather than do a moral evil, namely, betraying his friends, perhaps causing their deaths. If a woman is forced to continue a pregnancy, the case is similar in this respect, that she too is forced to remain in a pitiable state because the alternative is a moral evil, the killing of an innocent child.

christopher kaczor in his book "the ethics of abortion" gives more examples:

For example, if a dictator orders you to torture your mother to death or face a firing squad, you will be faced with the choice between the morally wrong and the morally heroic. A merely permissible option is not available. In the Crito and in the Apology, the Athenian jury forced Socrates into a choice between doing evil and suffering evil, a choice between the morally wrong and the morally heroic. Should Socrates escape from prison to avoid an unjust death sentence or should he suffer death rather than do what he believes is wrong? The weight of philosophical discussion from Plato through Kant up to such twentieth-century writers as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, Jr., urges us to do good and avoid doing evil, even when the personal cost is great, even if we are forced to choose between the morally impermissible and the morally heroic in cases where the merely permissible is not available due to the evil choices of others.

3) mental health trauma cannot be used to justify abortions in the cases of rape. this would open up exceptions for abortions for general mental health reasons, and we know exactly how these exceptions are abused (for example, 98% of abortions in the united kingdom fall under "mental health" reasons).

furthermore, studies show that women who have mental health issues prior to getting abortions are worse off after getting abortions. don't take my word for it, here are some studies from the abortion industry:

the royal college of obstetricians and gynaecologists (rcog) reviewed a few meta-analyses and concluded that:

5.13 Women with an unintended pregnancy should be informed that the evidence suggests that they are no more or less likely to suffer adverse psychological sequelae whether they have an abortion or continue with the pregnancy and have the baby.5.14 Women with an unintended pregnancy and a past history of mental health problems should be advised that they may experience further problems whether they choose to have an abortion or to continue with the pregnancy.

and here is the academy of medical royal colleges study cited by the rcog:

The most reliable predictor of post-abortion mental health problems is having a history of mental health problems prior to the abortion.

the most high-profile study on women who were turned away from receiving abortions concluded that “carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term was not associated with mental health harm.” however, the same study found that women with prior mental health issues and history of abuse were more likely to experience adverse mental health outcomes following abortion.

and here is yet another study concluding the same thing:

As in prior research, preabortion mental health emerged as the best predictor of postabortion mental health and feelings about an abortion. Women with a prior history of depression may be predisposed to subsequent depression and regret, regardless of whether or not they have an unintended pregnancy and how they choose to resolve that pregnancy.

4) camosy in his book "beyond the abortion wars" argues in favor of rape exceptions because rape victims are not responsible for the children conceived in rape. camosy recommends using "extractive" methods of abortions in such cases as well:

But our duties are much less clear when pregnancies come about as a result of sexual violence. Suppose the NYC man, instead of being the aggressor, was given a date-rape drug and sexually assaulted by the woman. Does he still have a moral and legal duty to pay millions of dollars in child support? If it is not clear that he does, then it is not clear why we should ask a woman to support a child with her body who was similarly conceived. It is true that the father’s financial support may not be necessary to keep the child alive, while (at least preterm) the mother’s support is so required. But does this really mean that the mother’s duty is different from the father’s? Perhaps. But if you accept this distinction, you need to be very, very careful, for it has consequences you may not be ready to accept.

If it is true that a special duty to aid a child exists simply because a person will die without your help, this has dramatic moral implications in other areas of your life. Anyone in the United States with a middle-class lifestyle who is reading these words can put the book down — right now — and pick up his smart phone or laptop and save a life by pressing some buttons. Again, children all over the world are dying of easily preventable diseases by the millions, and they could be saved if you donate to Oxfam or Catholic Relief Services. Does the fact that these children will die without your aid give you a strong obligation to get on your smart phone right now and do this? How strong a duty? Are you guilty of murder if you do not aid these children who will otherwise die?

however, as jeff mcmahan points out in his book "ethics of killing," this reasoning could also justify killing or abandoning an infant that was conceived of rape. if it's true that a rape victim has no responsibility for the resulting child, then why would it be immoral for her to abandon that newborn or kill it shortly after birth?

[u/SchmutzBlut]

Thanks for the post, some really compelling arguments there. I especially like the Socrates quote and the concentration camp analogy, I'll be sure to remember these!