Some Mothers WANT To Keep Their Baby Conceived In Rape, Though Society Often Doesn’t Support That Choice

Conventional wisdom says that women who become pregnant through rape want to abort their babies so that they won’t have that constant reminder of the violation that happened to them. But what about the woman who wants to keep her baby conceived in rape? Has society taken the time to listen to her story?

In recent days, the world’s attention was drawn to one lovely young lady who was the product of rape. Valerie Gatto, Miss Pennsylvania, competed in Baton Rouge for the title of Miss USA. The Inquisitr reported her story of being loved by her birth mother, who ultimately decided to keep her baby after being brutally raped at knife point. With the support of her family, that baby has grown up to be a beautiful inspiration, speaking out to young people about how to protect themselves from sexual assault.

Juda Myers, founder of Choices4Life, challenges the conventional thinking that women who have been raped and become pregnant want to obliterate the memory of any baby conceived in rape. She says that the women themselves often tell a different story.

Though their cases are thrown around by the media and exploited by activists and politicians, they say that they themselves have not been consulted. They say that their voices have not been heard above the cacophony trying to promote an agenda that does not care about or reflect the personal struggles that they themselves often face.

One mother said that she would rather die than live without her baby, even though that baby was the product of rape.

Her story is recorded on the Choices4Life blog. She has asked not to be named, but would like for her perspective to be heard. Juda Myers wrote this week:

“It was late one night when I got a call from a very distressed mother. She had just swallowed two bottles of pills – over 20 pills and wanted to tell me she couldn’t live any longer. Her family was trying to take her rape conceived daughter from her and it seemed to her that they would win. She couldn’t live knowing she would not have her daughter. That isn’t what society thinks or says about mothers of rape conceived babies. It is common to hear someone suggesting an abortion after rape because ‘a woman couldn’t bear to look at that child’ and ‘it would be a constant reminder of the rape.’ That isn’t what I’ve found at all.

“This young woman was drugged and raped. It was hard with family not believing her. Then the baby was born and this precious child stole the hearts of everyone. But the family that wouldn’t support her pregnancy now won’t support her being a mother. Lies are such a powerful weapon when the victim believes them. This time the lie was that this mother would lose her daughter forever. Because this mom believed that lie she was not able to face a life without that child. She literally would rather die than live without her rape conceived child. ‘She’s my life,’ the mother told me.

“I was panicked and was prepared to call 911 when her boyfriend took the phone from her. He said, ‘I love her and her baby. Her family lied about her and she wants to die. But I love her and her baby.’ He said he would take her to the ER and handed her the phone again. She passed out and he said he was rushing her to the hospital. I waited all night to hear in the morning that she was doing great. There had been some scary moments her boyfriend told me. She would later feel foolish for not fighting and for simply giving in to a lie. She wanted to live … for her daughter! Please note: there is a man who not only loves her but her baby too. ‘No one will love that child,’ society insists. But that too is a lie. Another myth/lie propagated by society.”

Shauna Prewitt is another mother who became pregnant after she was raped, and ultimately decided to keep her baby. CNN describes her as an attorney who has worked tirelessly for laws in various states to protect women who, like her, found themselves faced with the inconceivable reality of their rapist filing for custody or visitation rights for children conceived in rape.

In an open letter to Rep. Todd Akin, the politician whose career plummeted after ill-considered comments about “legitimate rape,” Prewitt relates the emotional conflicts as she wrestled with the decision of what to do after she found herself pregnant with her rapist’s baby:

“to my surprise, I did not altogether hate the life growing inside of me. Instead, I felt a sort of kinship, a partnership — perhaps the kind that only develops between those who have suffered together — but, nevertheless, I felt a bond. I admit that these feelings made me feel, for a long time, like a ‘bad’ rape victim. Why did I not feel hatred [toward the baby]?… It was not an overnight decision, nor was it an easy decision, but I ultimately decided to give birth to, and then to raise, the child I conceived through my rape.”

Kimberly Scott is yet another woman who wanted to keep her baby after she was raped. She was deeply in love with a Marine who was deployed at the time of the rape. They had been happily married for five years. Doctors had previously told them that she would not be able to bear children. They were wrong. By the time Kimberly realized she was pregnant, her husband Eric had returned home. It was a difficult journey, full of many mixed feelings, but her husband fully supported her in keeping the baby.

After 26 years of marriage, Kimberly has never been able to get pregnant again. This baby, conceived in rape, is the only child she ever had.

In an interview with 2020, Kimberly said that, even though she always to keep her baby, who was a part of her, it wasn’t until he was a toddler before she was truly able to fully bond with her son. Eric’s support made a huge difference for her. “By then she had erased any doubts that she made the right decision.”

Since that time, Kimberly’s baby, conceived under the most horrible conditions, has proven to be a remarkable child. When he was just six years old, young Mika Scott made local headlines by heroically pushing an attacking dog off of a baby at a party, and saving the baby’s life. The dog bit off part of Mika’s face, requiring plastic surgery.

Scott says her son is making a difference in many lives, with a thriving cookie business, where he has created over 68 flavors of cookies. He also has several inventions that are being patented. She tells The Inquisitr that Boeing is looking at one of his inventions for their aircraft.

Kimberly Scott, Shauna Prewitt, the mother that Juda Myers writes about, and Miss Pennsylvania’s mom are just a few of the brave women who have made the beautiful choice to keep their rape-conceived babies, allowing them to live. They have each had to fight, not only their own inner struggles, but also a culture that tells them that they would be better off aborting their babies and forgetting them.

This is the message that they want to share with the world. They want the rest of us to hear their voices, that despite the anguish of their rape and overwhelming obstacles, they are thankful that something precious and beautiful was able to come out of their pain. The “rape baby” is a baby, nonetheless, and like any baby, can bring incredible joy to those around them.

[images via bing and Facebook]