Are All Abortions Equal? Should There Be Exceptions to the Criminalization of Abortion for Rape and Incest?

Abstract

Politics, public discourse, and legislation restricting abortion has settled on a moderate orthodoxy: restrict abortion, but leave exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape and incest. I challenge that consensus and suggest it may be much harder to defend than those who support the compromise think. From both Pro-Life and Pro-Choice perspectives, there are good reasons to treat all abortions as equal.

The Psychology of the Politics of Rape: Political Ideology, Moral Foundations, and Attitudes Toward Rape

“…The topic of rape occasionally arises in American sociopolitical debate, whether it is in relation to abortion (Cohen, 2015), the ability to provide consent (Lynch, Wasarhaley, Golding, & Simcic, 2013), or the parameters underlying rape conviction (Pugh, 1983). This debate highlights a contemporary problem of how rape victims are perceived in both social and legal spheres (Frese, Moya, & Megías, 2004; Wheatcroft, Wagstaff, & Moran, 2009).…”

Abortion in Northern Ireland and the European Convention on Human Rights: Reflections From the Uk Supreme Court

“…For these reasons, some argue that abortions should be made available to all women who request them and that a distinction between particular categories such as FFA etc should not be drawn. 20 We agree with this position, but we accept that at the time of writing, international law only recognizes a right to abortion in in cases of FFA, and where the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. 21 There are good reasons why international law recognizes that States must provide abortion access in these exceptional circumstances.…”

Incoherent Abortion Exceptions

“…As Thomson recognizes, “[s]urely the question of whether you have a right to life at all, or how much of it you have, shouldn't turn on the question of whether or not you are the product of a rape” (Thomson 1971, 49). Cohen says that “from the perspective of violating the rights of a rights bearing entity, all abortions are equal” (Cohen 2015, 89; see also Wreen 1992). The extreme anti‐abortion position, which makes no exceptions in cases of rape, insists on this very claim.…”

“…We hear it espoused by former Senator Rick Santorum when he said that rape victims “have to make the best out of a bad situation.” 5 Bonnie Steinbock captures this line of thought with the following question: “How can it be right to kill the fetus because its father is a rapist?” (Steinbock 2011, 94). In slogan form, the extreme anti‐abortion position says that “all abortions are equal” (Cohen 2015, 88).…”

“…I.G. Cohen writes that “those who think that abortion is morally wrong and should be criminalized do not need to give no value to the mother’s interests, only to claim that the fetuses right to inviolability trumps that interest” (Cohen 2015, 88) 12 . And unlike (1), (2) does indeed contain a moral claim.…”