Caring for a Woman Pregnant from Sexual Assault

My name is Rowena. I am a Christ-follower. I am a freedom-fighter for life. What does that mean? For the last twenty years, I have been fighting for my own personal freedom. I was a victim of incest, sex trafficking, rape and physically forced abortions. It was during the years of sex trafficking (five years total), I became pregnant many times.

While I never saw the inside of a clinic, I know the effects abortions have on the mind, spirit and body. For a sexual assault survivor, abortion is another type of assault. Now, I am a freedom-fighter for the lives and care of women who have become pregnant from sexual assault as they navigate making life-affirming choices for themselves and their child not yet born. This article is to enlighten the hearts and minds of those who want to better understand how to walk along side a women who is pregnant from sexual assault. 

As I engage in conversation about walking along side women who are pregnant from various types of sex crimes, a common response or reaction I receive from hurt and angry survivors is that if they had gotten pregnant from rape that they would have had an abortion, but I promise that IT WOULD TRAUMATIZE THEM FURTHER. Often, the hurt survivor isn’t thinking about the process of abortion, which I will discuss in a bit more detail later. In these situations, it is so important to have empathy. 

Surviving a brutal rape or years of being raped by a family member or being sold for sex is dehumanizing and causes great shame and false guilt. A survivor saying she would have an abortion is often speaking from this very place. Unless you have been in this deep dungeon of horror, you cannot understand where she is at. Tread lightly and with a soft and compassionate heart for her pain.

One of the biggest gaps in the rape exception line of thought is that we want to “force” women to carry a “rapist baby”. The woman who has suffered trauma needs tremendous love and care. She needs time to process what has happened to her. She needs time for her body to heal from the brutality of rape. This time is vital to her well being. Remember, she is working through a very deep trauma.  

When she finds out she is pregnant, she needs time to breathe and take in the information without added outside pressure. There will be outside pressures to be sure. She will have questions and concerns. When she sees the doctor, she will likely be told that an abortion will make her life easier. As you hold her hand and speak life, don’t pressure her about the baby. God has given women a mother’s heart. Speak about how valuable her life is and the life of her baby.

This strong, yet broken woman needs time to adjust to what is happening. It as been anywhere from 5 weeks to a few months since her assault. She needs loving support to help hold her up and speak Life into her. She needs to hear that it is okay to not be okay. She needs to hear that it will eventually be okay. She needs to hear that she isn’t a freak for carrying a baby from rape.

She is going to be hearing things like, “How can you stand to carry the RAPIST BABY?”, “Get rid of it. It is DEMON SPAWN!”, “An abortion will help you heal faster.”, or “What if that THING looks like your RAPIST?” 

As you can see, the survivor is still under attack when she find out that she is pregnant. What she needs to hear from those of us, who say that we stand for life, is that she is beautiful, she can and will heal, and that the life she is carrying in her is a gift. She needs to know that SHE MATTERS IN THIS WHOLE PROCESS! The more this woman is nurtured and cared for, the more she will flourish and make life-affirming choices.

So far I have talked about what some of the needs of the survivor are. Now I want to highlight how harmful abortion is for a pregnant sexual assault survivor. What I am about to describe is disturbing, so brace yourself. Do you know what is happening in the procedure of an abortion? If you are not sure, please visit https://www.abortionprocedures.com for small videos that illustrate what abortions look like at each stage of pregnancy. The action of  an abortion is taking place in the very part of the survivor’s body that was so forcibly traumatized. Her body will need time to heal from the trauma of rape. The suggestion of abortion will likely cause her body to have unconscious reactions due to the thought of having anything near the vaginal area. Most people do not think about these kinds of details when they say that abortion in the case of rape is acceptable. Please education yourself and others about what abortion truly is and does to better love and care for these mothers.

Stop sending her to slaughter houses that perpetuate further abuse on her after a rape or other sexual exploitations. I know that the terminology is gruesome sounding, but think about what happened to the survivor you are caring for and what would happen in the clinic. The wording is fitting, given what she has already overcome. Instead, love her, stand by her, fight for her and her baby. Show her how precious she is and her child. Speak truth and shine light into the darkness around her. Combat the lies about her situation with truth. Let her love you back and therefore allowing her love to flourish for her baby. Think about it. As you embrace this woman, you are a God-given bridge to her healing and wholeness. 

Encourage her to talk about her thoughts and feeling about the baby. Use encouraging and life-affirming words. Don’t identify the pregnancy with the sexual assault. This will happen enough from other sources including her own processing. This is her child, her baby. Let me repeat this again…

Her child. Her baby. 

As her heart calms, she will see the hope of the life growing inside her. 

Anyone who loves and cares for a survivor mother will not suggest abortion after a sexual assault. 

While there is so much more that I could say about this topic, I will add this final point: I know that there are “pro-lifers” out there that only seem to care about the baby. THIS IS WRONG! I have seen comments saying how bad rape is, but that murdering a baby is worse. Did you know that in the Old Testament of the Bible, both murder and rape were punishable by death? How dare anyone of you tell a survivor of sexual assault that her trauma is bad, but if you murder your baby, you are worse. There is no love or compassion in this comment. THIS WILL NOT LEAD HER TO MAKE A LIFE AFFIRMING CHOICE. Instead she will run from you. As people who claim to stand for life, we need to take a survivor’s hand and walk with her through the storm before her with encouragement, life-affirming words and compassion. 

Could we see a woman who conceives from sexual assault choosing abortion? It is possible because she is a broken woman, scared and feelings alone. Should we condemn her or shun her? A Big Resounding NO! We love her and speak the truth of the Gospel to her. We realize that her wounds are now doubled. 

I pray that this helps someone, more that just someone, many people who struggle with the rape exception. There are no exception in life. God creates all human life in His image, in His likeness. We should cherish and fight to give dignity to the survivor and her child when they are at their most vulnerable.

Remember, I am no stranger to abortion. Lives were stolen from me. Too many to count. I was raped by countless men as my body was sold. Then I was raped under the word “abortion”. STOP USING THIS TO ALLOW CHILDREN TO BE MURDERED AND WOMEN TO BE FURTHER TRAUMATIZED.

Be a Freedom-Fighter for Life.

Broken Pieces

Body memories are something I had never heard of before that dreadful memory came into full view. I had them but didn’t know what was happening. I knew that I had been raped when Casey was at training, but I couldn’t remember the details. Then one day, a pair of eyes brought every detail into focus. Then body memories shattered my healing journey, or so I thought.

 
How often I look back on my younger years of marriage and long for the freedom I felt then. I had less sexual inhibitions with my husband, even though my healing was still so raw. Experimenting with husband was scary and exciting. I had waited until meeting Casey to give my broken heart away. I wanted to experience new things with him. I wanted to GIVE him myself, something I had never experienced. So I had prayed to my Heavenly Father, asking Him to help me protect my heart from anymore scavengers. 

Surviving incest, rape and trafficking for sixteen years had taken its toll on my mind, and heart. I had no thought to the ravaging effects on my body. In the earlier years of dating and marriage, there were extremes. Extreme flashbacks, where I would push my boyfriend/husband away in fear and uncertainty, then when I calmed down, wanting to explore and try something new and exciting. I just wanted to be free with my love. My desire was to feel everything I could with Casey. I would push though physical pain, not realizing that I was doing this. I was pushing through body memories. 

More of my life has been made clear to me. I have survived forced abortions. My young body was tortured with raw instruments to end life growing in me. New body memories were created and locked deep away. I have had issues that caused me to loose the ability to have anymore children. Thankfully, God redeemed my losses of life with two beautiful children, a son and a daughter. Later, due to the effects of the forced abortions, I had to have a complete hysterectomy. I still have severe body memories from the horror I was put through by my pimp.

 
As the years have passed, the Lord Jesus has been faithful to heal my mind of the lies that have been buried deep, due to all the sexual depravity that was forced on me. Mentally, I have learned to see negative thoughts and capture them to the obedience of Christ. I have continually renewed my mind in Christ Jesus. (Romans 12:1-2) I have learned not to live in my feelings, but to be sober-minded and walk in the truth because Jesus is the truth. (John 14:6) For all the work that Christ has done in me and through my obedience to Him, I have found in my most recent years a lack of physical freedom with my husband, who is my most precious gift from the Father. 

With each new memory that is brought to a place of clarity, my body seems to shut down, even as my mind and heart are healing. This is the reality of body memories. Did you know that the body remembers what the mind doesn’t want to or can’t handle? The body remembers everything! These last few years I have prayed for freedom, and still my body hurts and responds to my husband’s touch in unwelcoming ways. I long for my husband. He loves me so very well. He is a walking picture of Christ Jesus love for me. I want to make love to him. I want to be wild and free with my husband, but all I have is broken piece to give!

And then, one night, after my husband has tried yet again to pursue me, a body memory stops it all. All I can think is what a scourge I am to my husband! Do you know what a scourge is? Let me tell you. From the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a scourge is 1: a whip, especially one used to inflict pain or punishment, 2: an instrument of punishment or criticism, 3: a cause of wide or great affliction. For me, I thought I was cause of great pain and affliction to Casey. When I finally spoke to him, I told him that I was a scourge on him. 

Casey, a man full of loving firmness, told me to look at him. I was very resistant. I knew that there was love in his eyes, and I was most definitely unlovable. I couldn’t even perform my wifely duties, thanks to these damn body memories. However, I couldn’t resist him for long. I turned to him. He said that I was speaking lies. I was not a scourge. OH the broken pieces of me spilling out everywhere! What a mess! I totally lost it. I looked at his eyes, and could not handle the love pouring out! I felt so f-ed up! 
I didn’t hold back. Maybe if I just let it all go, he would get mad and leave. “What do you want from me? I am just this broken, f-ed up mess! Is this what you want? A woman who can’t have sex right now because her body won’t do what her heart wants her to? I have snot and tears everywhere, and I am just broken and f-ed up!!!!! Is this what you want??!!??”

He looked at me with such love and tears. He whispered with a strong voice, “Yes.” He said, “Rowena, all I have prayed for since we have been together is to have all of you, and finally, I see and do. You are so amazing and beautiful!” (Okay, I am about to cry typing this out. How I love this man!) He held me and caressed me for hours. I had body memories, and for the first time ever, I held Casey tighter. My body still goes against what my heart says, but I hold on to Casey instead of run. 

I said at the beginning that I thought that body memories had shattered my healing journey, but what my Gracious Redeemer has been doing is drawing me closer to Him. I have learned two very precious lessons this last week. The first lesson is that because of the finished work of the cross, I am not a scourge, but a beautiful blessing to my husband! The second lesson is that when I was letting Casey have it and asking him if he really wanted this broken, f-ed up women, I was really asking that of my LORD and Savior, who already made that decision when He called me His own. He wants me, all of me. Broken pieces and all. 

Body memories still come, but I now know that I only need to run TO  the arms of my Redeemer, as I run into the arms of my lover and husband. My body may break, but God created our two hearts to be one. My brokenness is beautiful to my husband. My broken, messy parts are what Christ wants so desperately to bind up and renew. I want to leave you with a few verses. 

Ephesians 5:22-33 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.