Many media outlets express shock and are unable to conceive of a world in which a child of rape or incest could be considered a divine gift. Note the tone and disgust of the Atlantic Wire summary of the story.
14-Year-Old Is Raped in Parents’ Basement, Refuses to Have an Abortion: “This Baby Will Be a Gift From God”.
P.J, became pregnant after being raped by a man who was supposedly a friend of a friend when she was 14 year olds.
P.J grow up in a military family and with very protective parents who weren’t typically the kind to let their kids hang out with just any and anybody.
However on one occasion the teen’s friends invited P.J to hang out with a boy from the military who was home for Christmas leave and her parents were comfortable with that.
P.J. friends got together in her parents’ basement, and P.J. was then raped right in front of several over people who all remained silent about what actually happened.
The truth about what had happened in the families basement came out five months later after P.J. found out that she was pregnant.
P.J.s parents were horrified and felt a sense of guilt and shame about the whole situation and P.J.s mom admittedly considered taking their daughter to get an abortion.
Angela is pro-life, but in the past would have made an exception in the case of rape or incest.
“I really thought I would take her to terminate the pregnancy,” Angela explains. “I was pro-life but with exceptions. I didn’t want to do that, but I was always told it was the thing to do in the case of forcible rape. My husband, however, said he couldn’t have anything to do with the death of a child. That it was still a human life. Everywhere we went, friends and religious people were very adamant that we should terminate.”
Angela P.J.s mom struggled continuously with what happened and was completely and utterly at a loss of how to best care for her daughter. Many close friends and family members were encouraging her to help P.J. terminate the pregnancy, but her husband, Doug, was encouraging the opposite. Angela was reminded of her own experience with abortion.
“In college, I got pregnant and I went to a health clinic. I was 24 weeks, and I had an abortion. My mother forced me to because she didn’t want to be embarrassed by my poor choices. We never spoke about it again. I have never gotten over it.”
A baby from rape is ‘something beautiful from something terrible’
Not wanting to repeat past mistakes and P.J. to suffer with regret that she was forced to experience every day of her life Angela came to the realisation that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen. A friend called Angela and referred her to Trisha, who runs a Birth Right. She begged her to take P.J. there before they made any decisions.
“Trisha was the first person to say it was going to be okay. She was the first person who actually encouraged us to keep [the baby]. As a woman, even if you’re pro-life, you’re told there’s nothing worse you can do to a rape victim [than tell her to keep her baby]. I’ve been told by everyone, especially the media, that abortion is what you do. Trish gave us Rebecca Kiessling’s pamphlet. We prayed about it and it was the best thing we had ever done. After we left Birth Right, P.J. cried–not because she was upset–but she said she felt relieved and like we were in a safe place. She said she knew Miss Trisha had her best interest at heart. When we heard [the baby’s] heartbeat, it was over for me. This child will be a gift from God. P.J. spent a lot of quiet time reflecting. She had a wisdom I didn’t have. Her strength and wisdom is what got us through.”
It wasn’t P.J.’s choice to be attacked, but it was her choice to keep the baby.
P.J.’s family decided to throw a baby shower and then she prepared for James to make his grand entrance into the world. While the circumstance was horrid, the life of this beautiful baby was well worth celebrating!
While the circumstance was unfortunate, the life of this beautiful baby was completely worth celebrating!
Something that seems so “obvious,” isn’t actually legislation, which is unbelievable.
P.J. gave birth to her son, James, in the fall of 2011. However, after the authorities investigated the man who raped her, they uncovered some disturbing facts that may severely endanger both P.J. and James because where they lived, there were no laws presently in place to protect women and their children conceived in rape from the rapist. The rapist is legally permitted to seek custody and parental rights.
In addition the rapist had previously raped another male and was in the process of being discharged from the Army for illegal drug use. Thankfully, the rapist’s attempts at getting partial custody of James failed.
“The minute we laid eyes on this child, we didn’t once equate him to the rapist. He’s just as much a victim. He has healed our family in ways we can’t explain. He is the most amazing gift from God. I don’t even know how to put it in words.”
Today, P.J. attends a women’s Bible study once a week, and she prays with James every day, constantly reminding him that he has always been wanted and loved and as for their decision not to terminate the pregnancy, well, Angela couldn’t be more grateful.
Pregnancy is a potential result of rape. It has been studied in the context of war, particularly as a tool for genocide, as well as other unrelated contexts, such as rape by a stranger, statutory rape, incest, and underage pregnancy. The current scientific consensus is that rape is at least as likely to lead to pregnancy as consensual sexual intercourse, with some studies suggesting rape may actually result in higher rates of pregnancy than consensual intercourse.
Wikipedia
What happens after birth is completely up to you; there are always options. ALWAYS people to help.
Facts about rape.
- Low estimate of the number of women , according to the Department of Justice, raped every year: 300,000
- High estimate of the number of women raped, according to the CDC: 1.3 million
- A woman’s chance of being raped in the U.S.: 1 in 5
- Chances that a raped woman conceives compared to one engaging in consensual sex: at least two times as likely
- Number of women in the US impregnated against their will each year in the U.S. as a result of rape: 32,000
- Number of states in which rapists can sue for custody and visitation:
- A woman’s chance of being raped in college: 1 in 4 or 5
- Quote in the New York Times regarding the rape: “They said she dressed older than her age.”
- Percentage of men who have been raped: 3 percent
- Percentage of rapists who are never incarcerated: 97 perent
- Percentage of rapes that college students think are false claims: 50 percent
- Percentage of rapes that studies find are false claims: 2-8 percent
- Number of rapes reported in the military last year: 16,500
- Pentagon’s estimated percentage of military assuaults not reported: 80-90 percent
- Percentage of military rape victims who were gang raped/raped more than once: 14%/20%
- Percentage of military rape victims that are men: 8-37 percent
- Percentage of military victims who get an “involuntarily” discharge compared to percentage of charged and accused who are discharged with honor: 90 percent involuntary to 80 percent with honor
- Chances an incarcerated person is raped in the U.S.: 1 in 10
- Increase in chance that LGTB prisoner is raped: 15x greater chance
- Country where women are imprisoned for being raped: Afghanistan
- Worldwide number of “child brides” under the age of 18 forced to marry every day: 25,000
- Ages of girls forced to marry a 59-year-old at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministry in Arkansas: 8, 14, 15
