Pregnancies that result from rape subject of new study
Researchers estimated the number of abortions that would be needed to address victim's needs
More than 64,000 pregnancies in the abortion-restricted states resulted from rape, according to a new study that was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers apportioned the 2022 nationwide rape estimates based on the FBI”s most recent Uniform Crime Reports and then estimated rape-related pregnancies by the fraction likely to result in pregnancy. The study was conducted by Samuel L. Dickman, Kari White, and David U. Himmelstein.
“Thousands of girls and women in states that banned abortion experienced rape-related pregnancy, but few (if any) obtained in-state abortions legally, suggesting that rape exceptions fail to provide reasonable access to abortion for survivors,” the researchers concluded.
The large number of estimated rape-related pregnancies in abortion ban states compared with the ten or fewer legal abortions per month occurring in each of those states indicates that persons who have been raped and become pregnant cannot access legal abortions in their home state, even in states with rape exceptions, according to the study.
Many people don’t realize how a rape-related abortion would proceed when a girl or woman arrives at a clinic. First, a provider would have to ask if it happened. Then, the patient would have to acknowledge it and identify the perpetrator. From there, the provider would alert authorities. Police would arrest the suspect and charge them with a crime. Since defendants have a right to question their accuser, the abortion-seeker would then be subject to cross-examination in a trial.
When it’s played out to its entirety, it’s horrifying to think a victim would be treated that inhumanely. It predictably deters necessary abortions. According to the Journal of American Psychiatry, a study revealed that only 18 percent of the adult women's rapes and only 11 percent of the assaults of children were reported.