What about in the case of rape? This is the most difficult subject for anyone in the pro-life world. It’s the question that causes many to stay on the sidelines. It is also the go-to argument for abortion supporters because it does two things. It places them in the position of casting the pro life side as ignoring the violence inflicted on the victim. And it puts the pro-life people on the defensive. The statistic is straight-forward. Rape accounts for only 1% of all abortions. But it is an irrelevant statistic. We never say “Rape accounts for only 1% of abortions.” Not ever. For the person who was attacked and for her family, the crime means everything. And that is the most important part. The person attacked was the victim of a terrible crime. Three important Points Right from the start we need to be very clear that the person who was raped is our primary focus. She did nothing wrong. We want to help her in every way we can. Every person I know who has had an abortion can recite the date of that abortion. Every person who was victimized by criminals in any manner can tell us exactly when the crime occurred. Our role in this situation is to offer an alternative to another act of violence on an innocent human. She was innocent when she was raped. And the child who was conceived during this violence is also innocent. Abortion will not take away the pain of rape. Next we need to be clear that the attacker must be apprehended and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. No one is in support of the rapist. We cannot skip over the fact that a violent crime has been committed. Our full support is with the victim, the woman who was raped. And then there is the child. If there was no child, there would be no abortion. But there is a child. His manner of conception was not his choice. A child conceived in rape is no less human than any other child. Assigning Value There is no scientific difference between a child with two married parents and that of a child conceived because his mother was violently attacked. If we saw a child struggling in the water and knew she was conceived in rape, we wouldn’t turn away or decide she didn’t have a right to be saved. We don’t assign value based on circumstances. Or at least we shouldn’t. This is a hard conversation for sure. Abortion supporters are able to speak with passion and often in anger as they paint us as non-caring toward the victim and only concerned about that unborn child. Be calm and compassionate as you let them speak. When they are done, calmly share these three important points. It’s important to keep it as a conversation and not a loud debate. The attacker should be caught and prosecuted. The victim did nothing wrong and deserves our full support. The child who is now there because of this violence also did nothing wrong and deserves our full support. We want to offer the victim another option that doesn’t involve a violent end to another innocent living human. You should recognize that in some cases, minds will not be changed. This is such an emotion-filled subject with so much pain inflicted on not only the victim, but also those closest to her. We show them that we support them and we stand ready to help whenever they allow us the opportunity. You can get this message across if you place yourselves in their spot. What would make you listen? What would give you some small easing of the hurt?