Can you give the percentages of pregnancies that happen because of rape or incest? Some people I know say that "many" pregnancies occur because of rape and incest. It is my opinion that the word "many" should be changed to "few."

Obviously, it is somewhat difficult to determine how many pregnancies occur because of rape as well as how many abortions occur because a woman was raped. Here are a few facts that might begin to answer the question.

1. One study of 1,900 abortion clients in 1987, found only one woman claimed to be the victim of rape or incest. (Torres and Forrest, "Why Do Women Have Abortions?" Family Planning Perspectives, July/August 1988, 20:4, pp. 169-176.)

    

    

2. Some social scientists say that one percent of rapes result in pregnancy. So if you assume that there are approximately 100,000 assault rapes occurring yearly in the U.S., we can estimate that less than 1000 pregnancies result. And if all 1000 babies were aborted (and this is not the case), this would account for less than .06 percent of the abortions performed in the U.S.

So I would agree that the word "few" is much better description than "many" pregnancies.

Kerby Anderson
Probe Ministries

About the Author

Kerby Anderson is National Director of Probe Ministries International. He holds masters degrees from Yale University (science) and from Georgetown University (government). He is the author of several books, including Christian Ethics in Plain Language, Genetic Engineering, Origin Science, and Signs of Warning, Signs of Hope. His new series with Harvest House Publishers includes: A Biblical Point of View on Islam and A Biblical Point of View on Homosexuality. He is the host of "Point of View" (USA Radio Network) and regular guest on "Prime Time America" (Moody Broadcasting Network) and "Fire Away" (American Family Radio). He produces a daily syndicated radio commentary and writes editorials that have appeared in papers such as the Dallas Morning News, the Miami Herald, the San Jose Mercury, and the Houston Post.

What is Probe?

Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site at www.probe.org.

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