Personal stories of woman who have been raped and pregnant as a result

Read these personal statements from women who have suffered rape at first hand. Some of them kept their child, some of them had an abortion. 

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LEE

I was just 17 years old when I left my home in Philadelphia and two alcoholic parents, to move clear across the country to San Francisco. I got a job in an office there and was certain that my future was going to be very different from my past. But I was naive. I rarely dated and I knew very few people, so when a bunch of people at work told me they'd been invited to a pizza party, I decided to go along. Read more here

ELIZABETH

Like so many teenage mums, Elizabeth Cameron doesn't like to talk much about the father of her toddler daughter. She shrugs when asked about him, and admits that when questioned about his whereabouts - as people inevitably do - she likes to keep things vague. Read more here

DEANA

"I’ve been there. Not Todd Akin. Not Richard Mourdock. And certainly not their critics who sanctimoniously imagine that they know what pregnant sexual assault victims really want and need. As my story shows, all too often, our self-appointed champions do more harm than good. I was 17, drugged and raped. When I learned I was pregnant, my family, counselors, and doctors took control. They intended the best. They wanted to help me. And even though there are literally no studies showing any benefit from abortion, they had total confidence in the social myth that abortion is the best option, even the only option, in cases of sexual assault." Read more here

VANESSA

"I didn't really want to have the abortion. I have always been against abortion all my life. People think that whenever anyone is raped, they have to have an abortion. My social worker just kept telling me all kinds of things to encourage me to have the abortion. Read more here

JOAN

Even among people who generally abhor the violence of abortion, there is often a feeling that pregnant victims of sexual assault are somehow different; abortion might be an appropriate solution for them. While these attitudes are held in good faith, my experience leads me to suspect that they may arise from unconscious acceptance of the patriarchal values that consider woman, especially victims of sexual assault, inferior. Read more here

NANCY

It was May 19, 1973. I was pregnant from a date rape. I had tried to hide it from my parents but of course they found out. Then the pressure started. "How are you going to go to college with a baby?" "How are you going to support it?" "It is only a blob of blood. It's not a baby yet." Before I had time to think about what I wanted, the abortion was over. Read more here

FABIANA

On the 20th June 2000 Vitor was at death's door in a Sao Paulo hospital, Brazil, at the hands of an abortion team led by doctor George Andalaft. The 5-month pregnant mother had asked for an abortion, because she was the victim of rape. Vitor is the son of Fabiana Silva, 15, who lives in Goiania, and her stepfather. Read more here