Raped and Refused Abortion
Approximately 293,000 people are sexually assaulted every year, and almost 32,000 women become pregnant from a rape. Around 50% of these women decide to have an abortion ("Rape Related Pregnancy"). Legal abortions can help rape victims forget about the trauma, maintain a stable income, and regain control of their bodies. It can also prevent them from undergoing illegal, unsafe abortions. However, in many developing countries, it is impossible to find abortion clinics or illegal to undergo an abortion after being a victim of rape. But receiving an abortion after the trauma of a rape should not be a question to if a woman should be allowed to have an abortion, but a birthright for women.
In one instance, it began with an eleven-year old girl complaining of abdominal pain. Her mother took her to the hospital and was told she was pregnant. Twenty-two weeks earlier, she had been raped by her step-father. Her mother requested that she have an abortion and was supported by many human rights organizations. However, the Paraguayan authorities refused to allow the abortion and even called a such abortion illegal. So the eleven-year-old had to go through with the birth. This story, written by CNN’s Rafael Romo, highlights only one instance of this problem. She is not the only one. 2,000,000 girls under age 14 give birth in developing countries each year, and almost 70,000 die from complications.
But there are people that help. Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises (IAWG) helps people, particularly women, all around the world with their health. This care begins when they are newborns to when they are mothers, about to have a child. IAWG began in 1995 to help people in crises with their reproductive health. Since then, it has grown to have 1,800 members, working collaboratively with the United Nations, governments, NGOs, universities, and donors to help people from Asia, the Bay area, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, Caribbean, Middle East, and Africa. IAWG has worked with rape victims who were denied an abortion. On a broader aspect, IAWG has led agencies in adopting methods that assist rape victims with prosecution and aftermath along with helping mentally relieve the victim. Anyone can become a member of IAWG and can attend their annual conference to learn how to help people with reproductive health issues as well as how to deal with sexual assault.
Abortions for victims of rape may not seem commonplace, but it is still crucial that women receive the treatment they need. Abortion for victims of rape is just a starting point for letting women make decisions for themselves and not having other people control their lives, bodies, and fears. It may seem challenging to find a place to get involved and help victims, but often it is enough to recognize the issue and begin standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
Works Cited
“About IAWG.” IAWG. IAWG, 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. <http://iawg.net/about-iawg/>.
“Rape-related pregnancy: estimates and descriptive characteristics from a national sample of women.” PubMed. USA.gov, n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8765248>.
Romo, Rafael. “11-year-old rape victim denied abortion gives birth in Paraguay.” CNN. CNN, n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. <http://Rape-related pregnancy: estimates and descriptive characteristics from a national sample of women.>.
“Statistics.” RAINN Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. RAINN, 2009. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. <https://rainn.org/statistics>.