2024-01-26T10:04:39+00:00
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/ American academic institutions revealed that about 520 thousand cases of “rape” of women were recorded, and more than 64 thousand pregnancies resulting from that in 14 states that legally prohibit abortion.
CNN Arabic reported that the estimates of researchers who conducted a new study indicate that tens of thousands of pregnancies resulting from sexual rape have been recorded in a number of American states that do not allow abortion as a legal option.
In the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers from Planned Parenthood, Resound Research for Reproductive Health, and academic institutions across the United States used a set of federal surveys on sexual crime and violence to estimate that about 520,000 rapes led to 64,565 pregnancies at the time abortion was banned in 14 states.
Other research has found fewer than 10 abortions per month in states with bans, suggesting that most, if not most, female victims were unable to get abortions in the states where they lived, even those where the law allowed exceptions for rape.
“Restricting access to abortion for rape survivors may have particularly devastating consequences,” the medical journal editors wrote in a note about the new research.
“It is not known whether rape survivors underwent illegal abortions, received abortion medications through the mail, traveled to other states, or carried the child to term,” they added.
About 1 in 5 U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all cases, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey.
A much larger majority, about 70% of adults, believe abortion should be legal if the pregnancy is the result of rape. But experts and this new research show that putting these exceptions into practice is a challenge.
“Like many written exceptions to abortion bans, the rape exception may seem like a reasonable solution, but in practice, it can create further trauma and risk for patients who have already experienced a traumatic event,” said Dr. Sami Heywood, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Illinois and a fellow at Physicians for Reproductive Health, who was not involved in the new research.
“There is no other health care system that is only for people who can prove a crime has occurred. This is not an ethical way to practice medicine. And it is cruel to force people who have already been victimized to jump through legal and logistical barriers that cause further harm,” she added.
Health care providers may not always ask this question, and female victims may not want to disclose it, but even those who do may face additional challenges, experts say.
“People who become pregnant after rape may take longer to recognize signs of pregnancy than other pregnant women, and there may be factors related to the trauma response that explain this,” explained Dr. Rachel Berry, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Perry, who was not involved in the new study, noted that this delay could mean that medication abortion, which can be used up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy, is not an option, and women may have to travel particularly long distances to reach a provider.
Rape victims often know their attacker and may actually live with him.
“It may be particularly difficult for them to travel out of state to get abortion care,” said Dr. Samuel Dickman, medical director of Planned Parenthood in Montana and lead author of the new study. “Trying to order pills online the way some people do can be particularly dangerous for them.”
The frequency of sexual assault is difficult to measure, and Dickman acknowledges that the study includes many statistical assumptions.
But part of it is about raising awareness about this stigmatized issue, and taking an honest look at who might be affected by an abortion ban, and the possible exceptions.