ABORTION AND HUMAN LIFE

sault. If it is rape by an unknown at ‐tacker, her baby may be a constant reminder of the nightmare of the or ‐deal. If it is a family member, she has to decide whether to report it and await the reaction of her family. In any of these cases, is abortion of the birth of a potential human being jus ‐tified?

Where the rape is perpetrated by a boyfriend, fiancé, husband or ‘part ‐ner’ who insisted on going ahead de ‐spite her protests, there would seem to be no case whatsoever for abort ‐ing the baby’s birth, despite the in ‐conveniences to its parents.

override the rights of the mother in any circumstances?

If the mother’s life would be en ‐dangered by the pregnancy or birth, it is the choice between an existing human life and a potential one, and it is generally considered that the mother has priority. If her life is not threatened, it is a question of having the right to make the decision about her own body and to live her life ac ‐cordingly. Or so the argument goes.

If the foetus is considered a sen ‐tient being, then the circumstances of the conception should be irrele ‐vant, because it had no control over it, whether it resulted from poor family planning, a simple lovers’ tiff or a brutal gang rape.

Cases of rape depend on the cir ‐cumstances. If it is a gang rape, the victim may not even know who is the father. And she may associate the in ‐nocent baby’s very existence with the horrifying experience of the as ‐

If the mother is somebody who sleeps around with scant regard for the consequences, there would seem to be a moral obligation to preserve an innocent life resulting from the reckless pursuit of pleasure. But it is not always as simple as that!