Conceived In Rape: Putting A Human Face On A Violent Crime

by Jack Rigert

I have been busy with the mid-term elections. In my home state of Illinois I have been fortunate to meet many candidates on the ballot who have never before run for public office. Women and men who are not only incredibly bright, articulate and qualified, but who also happen to be formed of the highest moral fiber. They stand head and shoulders above the corrupt power brokers who currently hold office. I believe that this is true in many parts of our country.

Sadly, some of them could lose because they are Christians who are pro-life. This is a reflection on the sad state of our culture. The candidates have all been asked, “Where do you stand on abortion?” Or they have heard, “I’m pro-life…except in cases of rape,” or “I’m pro-choice, especially in cases of rape!”

Aren’t these the same questions we have all heard? I have found that the best response is to ask them to listen to our sisters…living, breathing, beautiful, accomplished daughter’s of God, as they share their stories. I want you to meet one of them, Rebecca Kiessling, and I ask you to share her story with your friends and family.

Rebecca said, “My value is not based on how I was conceived, who raised me, what other people think of my life, or even what I do with my life. I am not a product of rape, but a child of God.

I was adopted nearly from birth. At 18, I learned that I was conceived out of a brutal rape at knife-point by a serial rapist. Like most people, I’d never considered that abortion applied to my life, but once I received this information, all of a sudden I realized that, not only does it apply to my life, but it has to do with my very existence. It was as if I could hear the echoes of all those people who, with the most sympathetic of tones, would say, “Well, except in the cases of rape…,” or who would rather fervently exclaim in disgust: “especially in cases of rape!!” All these people out there who don’t even know me, but are standing in judgement of my life, so quick to dismiss it just because of how I was conceived. I felt like I was now going to have to justify my own existence, that I would have to prove myself to the world that I shouldn’t have been aborted and that I was worthy of living. I also remember feeling like garbage because of people who would say that my life was like garbage—that I was disposable.

Please understand that whenever you identify yourself as being “pro-choice,” or whenever you make that exception for rape, what that really translates into is you being able to stand before me, look me in the eye, and say to me, “I think your mother should have been able to abort you.” That’s a pretty powerful statement. I would never say anything like that to someone. I would say never to someone, “If I had my way, you’d be dead right now.” But that is the reality with which I live. I challenge anyone to describe for me how it’s not. It’s not like people say, “Oh well, I‘m pro-choice except for that little window of opportunity in 1968/69, so that you, Rebecca, could have been born.” No — this is the ruthless reality of that position, and I can tell you that it hurts and it’s mean. But I know that most people don’t put a face to this issue. For them, it’s just a concept — a quick cliche, and they sweep it under the rug and forget about it. I do hope that, as a child of rape, I can help to put a face, a voice, and a story to this issue.

I’ve often experienced those who would confront me and try to dismiss me with quick quips like, “Oh well, you were lucky!” Be sure that my survival has nothing to do with luck. The fact that I’m alive today has to do with choices that were made by our society at large, people who fought to ensure abortion was illegal in Michigan at the time —even in cases of rape, people who argued to protect my life, and people who voted pro-life. I wasn’t lucky. I was protected. And would you really rationalize that our brothers and sisters who are being aborted every day are just somehow “unlucky”?!!”

“Although my birthmother was thrilled to meet me, she did tell me that she actually went to two back-alley abortionists and I was almost aborted. After the rape, the police referred her to a counselor who basically told her that abortion was the thing to do. She said there were no crisis pregnancy centers back then, but my birthmother assured me that if there had been, she would have gone if at least for a little more guidance. The rape counselor is the one who set her up with the back-alley abortionists. For the first, she said it was the typical back-alley conditions that you hear about as to why “she should have been able to safely and legally abort” me — blood and dirt all over the table and floor. Those back-alley conditions and the fact that it was illegal caused her to back out, as with most women.”