This post is for pro-lifers who defend outlawing abortion. Most want no exceptions for saving the so-called “life” of the baby – no provisions for rape, incest, and potential severe health hazards to the fetus or to the mother. The latest Supreme Court ruling that overturns Roe v. Wade makes no provision for abortion in cases of criminal activities against a perpetrator like I am about to report.
Allow me to present five cases that I believe deserve utmost consideration for abortion. Although each case involved disgusting and reprehensible acts that required arrest, each also fostered a victim of abuse left with an indelible scar. I believe no one should be forced to live with the product of such unions. To me, the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is unthinkable.
Case One: Showering the Rapist With Love (2021)
Oklahoma police arrested a woman after her 12-year-old daughter gave birth – and the family welcomed the child’s rapist to a baby shower.
Tulsa police said mom Desiree Castaneda and other family members knew about the victim’s relationship with 24-year-old Juan Miranda-Jara, who was reportedly surprised when he was arrested July 14, 2021 as he accompanied the 12-year-old to the hospital where she delivered.
“At the time, we received many questions along the lines of, ‘Where were the parents?’” the Tulsa Police Department said in a statement posted to Facebook.
“The family permitted the relationship, and there are photos of the family throwing a baby shower for the victim and the suspect.”
Castaneda was slapped with charges of enabling child sex abuse and neglect. The victim’s dad is behind bars on a 12-year prison sentence for an unrelated case of first-degree rape, cops said.
Miranda-Jara was charged with first-degree rape of a minor when he showed up to the Hillcrest Hospital in midtown with the victim in mid-labor. When questioned, he reportedly admitted he was the father of the unborn child and “acted a bit unsure as to why police were even getting involved,” FOX23 reported.
They walked in just like any other couple would; excited to deliver their newborn child,” Officer Danny Bean told the local station.
Miranda-Jara even allegedly posted that he was in a relationship with the girl on his Facebook profile, the station said. Photos of Miranda-Jara and the victim at the baby shower were also posted to his page, FOX23 stated.
(Mark Lungariello. “Mom arrested after her 12-year-old daughter gives birth.” New York Post. July 29, 2021.)
Case Two: Raped By the Deacon (2021)
Sherry Johnson was raped by the deacon of her local church when she was just nine years old. She was the daughter of the assistant “church mother” and her stepfather was the assistant pastor at an Apostolic Christian church in Tampa, Florida. The deacon who sexually abused her was 18.
He had entered her home while her mother and sisters had gone to church. “All you had to do was walk down the steps from the church and you’d walk into our kitchen,” Johnson explained. “And that’s where he raped me. I woke up with him on top of me. Many times.”
Johnson told her mom about what had happened and pleaded with her to help her understand what she had gone through. Even though she was young, she knew something was amiss. But her mom ignored her and didn’t even believe her. Shockingly, she told the church that Johnson was a liar.
“I was a sacrifice to cover up what he did,” Johnson recalled. She said at that moment she wanted to run away from home. But she had nowhere to go and she was just nine years old. And then, to make matters worse, she found out that she was pregnant months after being sexually abused by the deacon.
Social workers got involved but Johnson couldn’t tell them who the father of her baby was as she was frightened. Her mom had also told her that she should keep it a secret in order not to ruin her family name. Johnson was later sent away with the deacon who raped her again while they were making their journey from Tampa to Miami. The young girl was seven months pregnant at the time.
While staying with the deacon thousands of miles from home, she gave birth in a hospital. Her mother did not even visit her or her new baby, Johnson said. At 11, she
was forced to marry her rapist, who was now 20. Her mother made the wedding cake, dress and even a veil for her. Johnson said she found “a little bit of security” in the marriage because her mother told her to do it. “So I thought there must have been something OK with it,” she said.
But after the marriage, the deacon started tormenting her — emotionally and physically. And anytime he got her pregnant, he would leave her and then come back after the baby was born to impregnate her again. By age 16, Johnson had six children.
Eventually, the deacon was jailed for failing to pay child support. Johnson tried to start divorce proceedings but she was not able to because she was under 18. Later, she was given special dispensation and divorced the deacon at 17. Johnson went on to marry twice, and in both marriages, she was abused. But she had three more children and about five years ago, she finally got her high school diploma at age 55.
Now a mother of nine children and a grandmother of more than 30 grandchildren, she has been fighting to end child marriage in the United States. Her children, who know about what she went through when she was young, have been giving her all the support she needs.
Although most states in America require one to be at least 18 years old to marry, some have exceptions that allow children under 18 to get married. Most states require a minor to have parental consent, the approval of a judge or to be recognized as adults (i.e. emancipated minors) for them to get married. Consequently, as of December 2017, 25 states allowed minors to get married if they meet their state’s exceptions.
(Mildred Europa Taylor. “Raped by a deacon, she had his baby at nine, married him at 11 and had six kids by 16.” https://face2faceafrica.com/article/raped-by-a-deacon-she-had-his-baby-at-nine-married-him-at-11-and-had-six-kids-by-16. December 14, 2021.)
Case Three: Brother Pregnancy (2020)
An 11-year-old girl in St. Charles, Missouri, who was raped by her brother, gave birth at home, and now he and their parents are facing criminal charges.
The (unnamed) girl gave birth to a boy in a bathtub according to a probable cause statement. Her biological brother, who is 17, was charged in February 2020 with incest, statutory rape, and statutory sodomy of a person younger than 12, while her parents were charged with child endangerment. Police say the girl's parents did not provide medical care to their daughter after she gave birth.
Police started investigating on Feb. 11 after the girl's parents brought a baby boy to a hospital. The baby still had the umbilical cord and placenta attached and a body temperature of 90 degrees, according to a probable cause statement.
The girl's father initially claimed the baby was his and had been dropped off on their porch by an ex-girlfriend.
He later told investigators his daughter had given birth to the boy and that his son was the father, a probable cause statement states. The girl's parents claimed they were not aware she was pregnant or that she was allegedly being sexually assaulted by her brother, according to the statement.
During questioning, the brother told police he had sex with his sister about 100 times but did not know she was pregnant, according to a probable cause statement. He also said he did not know how long it had been going on for, the statement said.
The baby was born premature, and the girl is in the care of relatives, St. Charles police Lt. Tom Wilkison told NBC News.
(Janelle Griffith. “Girl, 11, gave birth to baby allegedly fathered by brother; he and parents are charged.” NBC News. February 22, 2020.)
Case Four: 25-Year-Old Florida Woman Pregnant By 11-Year-Old Boy (2018)
Can a male be raped? If so, what say should he (or his parents/guardians) have on carrying a baby to term? An additional 14 charges were filed November 2018 against a Port Richey, Florida, woman accused of sexual battery on an 11-year-old that led to her having the boy’s child.
The relationship started in 2014 and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies said the baby boy was born later that year.
Investigators arrested 25-year-old Marissa Ashley Mowry on Tuesday afternoon. She was originally charged with sexual battery on an 11-year-old child.
Mowry was charged with three counts of sex assault by 18 years of age sex battery victim under 12 years of age, and 11 counts of sex assault by custodian sex battery victim 12 years of age and under 18 years of age.
Investigators said Mowry admitted to having a sexual relationship with the boy.
In January 2014, investigators said Mowry, who was 22 at the time, had sexual intercourse with the 11-year-old at a home in Hillsborough County. As a result, Mowry got pregnant and gave birth in October 2014.
Deputies said Mowry and the victim continued to have sexual contact several times until this year when the victim was 14.
Investigators said the victim was also a Brandon resident but deputies would not elaborate on how the two were connected in an effort to conceal the victim’s identity.
Investigators said that in April 2018 someone anonymously reported the encounters through an abuse tip line in Pasco County.
(Staff. “25-year-old Florida woman impregnated by 11-year-old boy, has child’s baby” https://www.bigcountryhomepage.com/news/main-news/25-year-old-florida-woman-impregnated-by-11-year-old-boy-has-childs-baby/. Abilene Nexstar. November 20, 2018.)
Case Five: Father of Four Babies By His Own Daughter (2014)
Dateline Harrisonville, Missouri: A woman whose husband fathered four babies with one of the couple's daughters was sentenced to seven years in prison November 2014 after pleading guilty to child endangerment and hindering prosecution of a felony.
Three of the four children the woman's husband had with the couple's daughter died, including one whose body was found in a shallow grave in eastern Oklahoma where the family apparently lived for a short time. The bodies of two other babies were found in coolers on a rural Harrisonville property where the family lived in their mobile home.
Judge Mike Wagner said he knew of animals in the wild that fought to protect their young and questioned why the 49-year-old mother didn't do the same.
"What is so frustrating to the court is there is no amount of time in prison that can give this young lady her childhood back," he said. "Your child suffered an unthinkable abuse, and you allowed that to happen. You will have to live with that for the rest of your life."
Three of the four children the woman's husband had with the couple's daughter died, including one whose body was found in a shallow grave in eastern Oklahoma where the family apparently lived for a short time. The bodies of two other babies were found in coolers on a rural Harrisonville property where the family lived in their mobile home.
The Associated Press is not identifying the parents to protect the victims' identities.
Under a plea deal, the victim's mother was sentenced to serve her seven-year sentence for child endangerment at the same time as her four-year sentence for hindering prosecution.
The victim testified at her father's trial, divulging that her father began having sex with her when she was 5 years old. He was sentenced in June to life in prison after being convicted of charges that included second-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse.
The murder charge stemmed from the death of the victim's third child, who fell ill and didn't receive appropriate medical care. The victim's first child, born when she was just 14, died after falling off a couch; the fourth baby was stillborn. Only the second child survived.
The victim, now 21, sobbed during her mother's sentencing hearing as Cass County prosecutor Teresa Hensley wrapped her arm around the young woman.
"It hurts me to know my mom could have been there for me and helped me," the victim said in a handwritten statement that Hensley read to the judge. "I wish I had a mom to talk to and hang out with, but that will never happen."
The victim said in the statement that she now could move on with her life with her surviving son and soon-to-be husband. The boy was placed in foster care when the allegations were first made, and Hensley said the victim is seeing him.
(“Mother Sentenced to 7 Years in U.S. Incest Case.” https://www.foxnews.com/us/mother-sentenced-to-7-years-in-u-s-incest-case. Associated Press. November 17, 2014.)
Conclusion
Those who wish to simplify abortion with ideals of morality and pleas of absolute right to life should shoulder all responsibility for evil actions of those like the perpetrators above. Denying a young girl … even a boy … a choice to end the product of rape, incest, and total irresponsibility is the loss of a precious freedom. Notice I said “a choice” – who can deny that an option must be available for those manipulated and abused?
Pro-lifers are quick to cite that only a fraction of abortions in the U.S. are done for rape, incest, or mother’s health issues. But, what does that have to do with the reality of these things occurring? Should the smaller percentage deny a right to choose in such incredibly invasive and dangerous cases? I think not.
Anti-abortionists say “abortion is just another act of violence perpetrated against their bodies and their children’s bodies.” Or, they argue that the future child's life may have come intrinsic value or that when a woman goes through with a pregnancy, that process somehow “conquers” the rape. How presumptuous.
Think of this equally “fair” consideration: the victims have been stripped of their choice once, why do that to them again?” It should be an individual's choice of freedom, and not the government's choice. Allowing this individual to choose gives that person back their self-control. And, if the government wants to respect people's values and beliefs, such circumstances require special attention and delicate relief.
I'll end with this little-known fact. Dr. Ann Burgess, an internationally recognized pioneer in the assessment and treatments of victims of trauma and abuse, commented, “People are not aware how the rapist tries to claim responsibility for the child. He insists on some say in the child’s life. I know about a dozen cases where this happened. The rapist continues the emotional trauma on the victim by forcing himself into the victim’s life.”
American Thinker was told about a senior in college who was raped. She did not abort and when the child was seven years old the rapist suddenly served her with papers requesting custody of their daughter. At first she thought it was so ridiculous she laughed it off. Then, the truth sank in as she noted, ‘I was struck with terror, not only with the idea of letting my child be around him, but also having to spend the next eleven years of my life tied to him.’”
(Elise Cooper. “The Rape Exception.” American Thinker. September 25, 2015.)
The victims should be the ones to determine if they want to continue the pregnancy or prevent it. Those women who become pregnant because of rape and do not believe in abortion should be respected by society, but so should those who choose to abort.
Postscript
In Virginia, GOP congressional candidate Yesli Vega, who also cited her time as a police officer, gave credence to an absurd untruth – that a woman who is raped may have a lower chance of getting pregnant. Axios published audio recordings of her comments on June 26, 2022.
In the fall of 2021, Ohio US Senate candidate JD Vance called pregnancies from rape merely "inconvenient" and emphasized that in matters relating to pregnancy resulting from rape, "The question to me is really about the baby." (Apparently the woman matters very little, if at all.) In 2022, Ohio Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt said that her state's law criminalizing abortion gave child rape victims the "opportunity" to "help that life be a productive human being."
That is, if a child victim makes it that far. Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading killer of girls aged 15-19 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. And adolescent motherhood means that girls are more likely to be in abusive relationships; that they wind up poorer; that they and their children are less likely to reach their educational potential; and that their children are less healthy and are more likely to die in infancy.
And just this week (June 26, 2022), in a stunningly callous interview with CNN's Pamela Brown, Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio applauded his state's strict anti-abortion law, which outlaws abortion roughly six weeks after the first day of a woman's last menstrual period with few exceptions and without any exemption for rape or incest.
"What happens when a twelve-year-old girl falls pregnant after being raped?" Brown asked him. "Are you ok with her being forced to carry that fetus to term?"
"You don't know you were raped for two months?" Warren asked, as if women and girls seeking abortions after rape are either liars, idiots or irresponsible. "I think it's a great law," he said. "And it is a compromise." The "compromise," apparently, is that most rape and incest victims are forced to carry pregnancies to term. That, Warren reiterated, didn't bother him. "It's hard to conceive of somebody who doesn't know they were raped for two months," he said.
(Jill Filipovic. “Opinion: Cruel GOP rhetoric about rape survivors and abortion is far more than words.” CNN. June 28, 2022.)
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