Pregnancy from rape
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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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 as likely to lead to pregnancy as consensual sexual intercourse, with some studies suggesting rape may result in higher rates of pregnancy than consensual intercourse.
Rape can cause difficulties during and after pregnancy, with potential negative consequences for both mother and child. Medical treatment following a rape includes testing for, preventing, and managing pregnancy. A woman who becomes pregnant after a rape may face a decision about whether to have an abortion, give the child up for adoption, or raise it. In some countries where abortion is illegal after rape and incest, over 90% of pregnancies in girls age 15 and under are due to rape by family members.
The false belief that pregnancy can almost never result from rape was widespread for centuries. In Europe, from medieval times well into the 1700s a man could use a woman's pregnancy as a legal defense to "prove" that he could not have raped her, since her pregnancy was thought to mean that she had enjoyed the sex and therefore consented to it. In recent decades, some pro-life politicians and organizations (such as Todd Akin) who oppose legal abortion in cases of rape have advanced claims that pregnancy very rarely arises from rape, and that the practical relevance of such exceptions to abortion law is therefore limited or non-existent.
See also
- Effects and aftermath of rape
- Reproductive coercion
- Unintended pregnancy
- Sociobiological theories of rape
