{"id":143,"date":"2026-11-02T00:57:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T00:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/?p=143"},"modified":"2026-11-01T17:17:28","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T01:17:28","slug":"rape-survivor-rejects-abortion-i-wouldnt-be-here-today-if-i-didnt-have-my-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/?p=143","title":{"rendered":"Rape Survivor Rejects Abortion: \u201cI Wouldn\u2019t Be Here Today if I Didn\u2019t Have My Child\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

National<\/a>  |  Sarah Terzo<\/em>  |   Oct 23, 2026   |   9:40AM   |  Washington, DC<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the pro-life documentary \u201cExcept in Cases of Rape,\u201d Ashley Boyer, who is raising a child conceived through rape, shared her story of choosing life in difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people, even many who consider themselves \u201cpro-life\u201d and feel that abortion is wrong, support exceptions to pro-life legislation that would allow pregnant rape survivors to abort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their view is based on two assumptions\u2013that 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, the very voices that we should be listening to the most are excluded from the debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashley Boyer is one of many\u2013 an example of a woman who chose life and found that her child gave her a purpose and helped her heal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Boyer\u2019s 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Immediately after finding out that I was pregnant\u2026 abortion was a thought. It went through my head, \u201cThere\u2019s no way. No, I can\u2019t do this. Not with this person. Why is this happening to me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Boyer\u2019s religious beliefs, along with her strong conviction that abortion kills innocent children, were what led her to choose life for her child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the 10 Commandments says, \u2018Thou shalt not murder.\u2019 And even though it\u2019s not out in this world, it\u2019s still murder\u2026 In my opinion, I think that it\u2019s wrong,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a child \u2013 he didn\u2019t ask to be created. So, you should give them a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I, in my opinion, think that I wouldn\u2019t be here today if I didn\u2019t have my child. I was down a very rough road in life and was messing up and since I\u2019ve had my child, I\u2019ve bettered myself. I\u2019m going to school and if I had chosen abortion then I don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be in life or if I\u2019d even be here myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat child was created for a reason,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s meant to be here. He may not have been created in your time, and when you wanted it, but it was on God\u2019s time, and He gave it to you, to either better your situation or help you in your struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to popular belief, many women who conceive through rape reject abortion. In fact, two different studies<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahkorn discussed the reasons why women in her study chose not to abort:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beliefs that abortion involves violence, killing, or was immoral were the reasons most frequently reported for clients\u2019 decisions against abortion. Client viewpoints such as abortion is a \u201cviolent way of ending a human life\u201d or abortion is \u201ckilling\u201d were noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others expressed the belief in an intrinsic meaning to human life, reflected in opinions such as \u201call life has meaning\u201d or \u201cthis child can bring love and happiness into someone\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

National  |  Sarah Terzo  |   Oct 23, 2026   |   9:40AM   |  Washington, DC In the pro-life documentary \u201cExcept in Cases of Rape,\u201d 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 \u201cpro-life\u201d and feel … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-articles"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144,"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions\/144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ysrtl.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}