Rape Survivor Rejects Abortion: “I Wouldn’t Be Here Today if I Didn’t Have My Child”

In the pro-life documentary “Except in Cases of Rape,” Ashley Boyer, who is raising a child conceived through rape, shared her story of choosing life in difficult circumstances.

Many people, even many who consider themselves “pro-life” and feel that abortion is wrong, support exceptions to pro-life legislation that would allow pregnant rape survivors to abort.

Their view is based on two assumptions–that those who conceive in rape always want abortions, and that abortion is the best and emotionally healthiest outcome for them. But many rape survivors do choose life, and their stories defy those assumptions.

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Often, the very voices that we should be listening to the most are excluded from the debate.

Ashley Boyer is one of many– an example of a woman who chose life and found that her child gave her a purpose and helped her heal.

Though Boyer’s initial reaction to learning she was pregnant was to have an abortion, she quickly changed her mind. Raped by someone she knew, she considered abortion right away. She explained:

Immediately after finding out that I was pregnant… abortion was a thought. It went through my head, “There’s no way. No, I can’t do this. Not with this person. Why is this happening to me?”

But it only took me about an hour to realize that I was pregnant for a reason and this child was meant to be mine. And after that abortion was no longer a thought or an option.

Boyer’s religious beliefs, along with her strong conviction that abortion kills innocent children, were what led her to choose life for her child.

“One of the 10 Commandments says, ‘Thou shalt not murder.’ And even though it’s not out in this world, it’s still murder… In my opinion, I think that it’s wrong,” she said. “It’s just a child – he didn’t ask to be created. So, you should give them a chance.”

Some women who conceive through rape and choose life make adoption plans for their children, while others raise their children. Boyer chose to parent her child, and she credits that child with literally saving her life:

I, in my opinion, think that I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t have my child. I was down a very rough road in life and was messing up and since I’ve had my child, I’ve bettered myself. I’m going to school and if I had chosen abortion then I don’t know where I’d be in life or if I’d even be here myself.

Becoming a mother led to Boyer giving up harmful behaviors, and she dedicated herself to building a better life for her baby and herself. She wants other women who have conceived due to a sexual assault to know that their child was created with a purpose.

“That child was created for a reason,” she said. “It’s meant to be here. He may not have been created in your time, and when you wanted it, but it was on God’s time, and He gave it to you, to either better your situation or help you in your struggle.”

Contrary to popular belief, many women who conceive through rape reject abortion. In fact, two different studies found that the majority of these women chose life. Researcher Dr. Sandra Mahkorn found that 75% of women pregnant through rape that she followed chose life.

Mahkorn discussed the reasons why women in her study chose not to abort:

Beliefs that abortion involves violence, killing, or was immoral were the reasons most frequently reported for clients’ decisions against abortion. Client viewpoints such as abortion is a “violent way of ending a human life” or abortion is “killing” were noted.

Others expressed the belief in an intrinsic meaning to human life, reflected in opinions such as “all life has meaning” or “this child can bring love and happiness into someone’s life.”

It was similar beliefs that influenced Boyer to carry her pregnancy to term. She has no regrets and feels she is much better off for having chosen life for her baby. How a person was conceived in no way diminishes their value or removes their right to life.

LifeNews Note: Sarah Terzo covered the abortion issue for over 13 years as a professional journalist. In this capacity, she has written nearly a thousand articles about abortion and read over 850 books on the topic. She has been researching and writing about abortion since attending The College of New Jersey (class of 1997) where she minored in Women’s Studies. This article originally appeared on Sarah Terzo’s Substack. You can read more of her articles here. This article originally appeared on Live Action News.