"Important principles may and must be inflexible."

- Abraham Lincoln, 1865

What principle could possibly be more important than the principle that all human beings deserve the right to live? In fact, if this fundamental right to life is denied, no other rights can exist.

What About Incest?

Incest is an issue so emotionally charged that many people often have a difficult time speaking about it. Couple this crime with a resulting pregnancy, and some people who otherwise consider themselves pro-life become confused, and compromise in their defence of the pre-born child's right to be born.

When a young girl becomes pregnant through an incestuous relationship, the problem is not the innocent, pre-born baby, it is the father, stepfather, uncle or brother who is the perpetrator of the crime of incest. Incest is a manifestation of a serious disorder within the family. When the incest is allowed to be covered up, it festers and grows and often passes from generation to generation.

Allowing abortion for incest not only exploits the victim and robs a pre-born child of life, but it protects the perpetrator from exposure so that he may continue to commit his heinous acts without fear of discovery or retribution. Abortion is the perpetrator's best possible cover-up for incest, practically ensuring its continuation. How does this help a young girl being abused by a family member? Quite simply - it doesn't.

Pregnancies Are Rare

Although most cases of incest occur over an extended period of time, the probability of pregnancy is extremely low - less than 1%. A treatment program in Santa Clara County, California, reported only 12 pregnancies in 1500 cases of incest.

Furthermore, when the results of four different studies on the frequency of pregnancy resulting from incest are combined, the probability of pregnancy due to incest (per girl, not per case of intercourse) is 16 out of 2500 cases - one out of 156, or 0.64%.

Won't the Babies be Handicapped?

Despite the low incidence of pregnancy resulting from incest, the girl who does conceive a child faces very real concerns. Thousands of crisis pregnancy centers and support groups such as Life After Assault exists precisely to find life-giving solutions to any problem that may arise in the family.

One of the most common concerns about babies conceived in an incestuous relationship is that the child will be disabled. It is difficult to accurately measure the frequency of disabilities because such babies are rare and many are killed through abortion.

Dr. Carl Olstrom, a Swedish psychiatrist experienced in the study of foetal deformity resulting from incest, reports: "There is no evidence to support the assumption that children resulting from incestuous relationships run a greater risk of being malformed than other children." Other, smaller studies have shown serious birth defects in up to one fourth of all children who were conceived through bloodline incest.

Even if definitive evidence proved that incest always results in a disabled or disfigured child, that does not justify killing human beings because they are physically or mentally handicapped. Every person has defects of one sort or another, and is is a eugenic mentality that drives the notion that " less than perfect" human beings should be destroyed.

The Point: NO Exceptions!

Incest is often the heart wrenching example pro-abortion people use to rationalize the necessity for abortion. Yet the facts show that abortion is not a solution at all. For the girl in a sexually abusive home; for the family in need of intervention; for the pre-born child whose very life is on the line - abortion will not heal the wounds of incest.

The question of whether abortion - the direct, intentional killing of a pre-born human being - can ever be accepted by a pro-life person has an obvious answer. Each and every human being is created by God in his image, to fulfil a unique purpose in life, no matter how long or short, healthy or sick, rich or poor that life may be. From the moment of conception, all human life must be protected - without exception, and without compromise!

1. George E. Maloof, M.D., " The Consequences of Incest: Giving and Taking life," The Psychological Aspects of Abortion, D. Mall and W.F. Watts, eds., University Publications of America, Washington, DC, 1979, pp. 78-79

2. G. Maloof, M.D., op. cit., p.74

3. Ibid

4. Remarks by Hon. Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. (R-VA), quoting [Carl Henry Olstrom, M.D., Medical World News, February 4, 1967] Congressional Record, July 25, 1983. Reprint by ALL, Rape and Incest Exception Not Needed & Unwarranted, 1985

American Life League

www.all.org