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This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “InterCHANGE,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Raped and pregnant
By Kevin Fischer
Wednesday, Mar 18 2009, 07:45 PM
It was the most explosive, most emotional topic I think I have ever discussed while filling in at Newstalk1130 WISN. Last August, I brought up the subject of abortion in a manner I don’t believe had ever been addressed on local talk radio.
What about victims of rape who refuse abortions? Granted, the number of cases involving rape victims who become pregnant is small, but they happen.
I attempted to make it clear during the program and in a subsequent blog that I admire women who forego abortions after being victimized, but I personally could not and would not criticize them for choosing to abort in such cases.
During the discussion, I took some heat from hard-line, 100% pro-lifers, and that’s fine. It’s all part of discussing a highly charged issue on a 50-thousand watt radio station. However, I’ve been, and I don’t know if this is the proper word or not, fascinated, definitely compelled by this topic ever since because of the wide range of emotions and opinions it can and did spark.
This past Sunday, while ushering at church, I noticed a pamphlet in the vestibule:
Raped & Pregnant
Three Women Tell Their Stories
Each made a different decision and commendably, courageously shared the experiences openly and publicly.
"The next morning I tried again to wash away the dirty feeling, but nothing worked. I lost my appetite, was haunted by nightmares, and couldn’t concentrate in school. I kept looking over my shoulder, certain he was coming back for me. Somehow I thought God must not care about me. Maybe He was even punishing me.
The thought of pregnancy hadn’t occurred to me at first, so for four months I denied the possibility. I insisted to myself that my queasiness was just a touch of the flu, and my missed periods were due to shock. But a doctor’s exam finally erased all doubt. I cried all the way home from his office."
"Abortion was still illegal, but my sister made the arrangements. I met a man in Griffith Park, who took me blindfolded to a doctor’s office. But the doctor wouldn’t do an abortion because I had such a bad case of strep throat - if the infection went into my uterus, I could die. So he told me to go home and live with the fact that I was pregnant, and somehow I’d make it through. I later found a very caring doctor who helped me see that every life was valuable. I began feeling love and acceptance for my child, especially as I felt my baby moving. I became excited about the new life within me and almost forgot how it had begun. When I finally told my parents, my dad was in shock that I was pregnant, especially from a rapist. A family doctor got my dad in touch with Planned Parenthood, where I was told that abortion was 'the only solution.' They offered no alternatives. I believed them when they said my nightmare would be over and I could go on with life after the abortion as if "nothing ever happened."
"As I picked myself up and walked home, I couldn’t stop weeping. I felt dead inside. Everything within me was crushed - he stole from me something I could never get back. And what was worse was that my disobedience led to the rape. Since I wasn’t "pulled off the street," I figured it probably wasn’t a real rape - it must be my fault. So I hid my guilt and shame. Somehow I knew I’d get pregnant. One month went into another, and as I waited for my period I became withdrawn and desperate. In despair I cried out to God and made all kinds of promises, but God didn’t take this man’s child away. Abortion wasn’t legal then, so I tried to kill my child myself. I drank ant poison, jumped off tall haystacks, and punched my stomach as hard as I could, but nothing worked. I hated the baby, I hated the guy, and most of all I hated myself."
Here’s the article originally published in Americans Against Abortion magazine that offers real human perspective on an issue rarely discussed or studied.
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