1%. It doesn’t sound like very much. If the sales tax goes up 1% in your town, you may notice the slight increase and may shop somewhere else. If your weight goes up 1% after Thanksgiving, it’s most likely only temporary. If you buy a car with 1% better gas mileage, you may not notice anything different. But, what is the impact on human life because of abortion exceptions, which amount to about 1% of cases?
Why is the 20 week abortion ban seen as a tremendous opportunity for a pro-life victory, while eliminating the rape exception is nearly at the bottom of the priority list for ending abortion? Isn’t it shocking that the prospect of annually saving 18,000 babies' lives with the 20 week ban, a laudable goal, is enthusiastically pursued, while the chance to permanently protect the 32,000 or more babies conceived from rape every year, by eliminating all traces of the rape exception, is not supported by many in leadership positions, (both pro-life and clergy), and in political office?

The rape exception is a creation of the abortion rights movement, but is accepted and promoted by some in the pro-life community out of a false sense of compassion, because it is the popular view, or because of pro-life politics. Most of these people do not consider my life at all. To them, the rape exception is only a concept.

I was conceived when my mother was attacked on her way home from work in the late summer of 1957. It is interesting to note that at the same time in 1957, members of a prominent lawyers group, The American Law Institute, (ALI), proposed and recommended that the first exceptions policy guidelines be added to state abortion prohibition laws. The ALI exceptions were: grave physical or mental health impact to the mother, evidence that the child would be born with a grave physical or mental defect, and rape and incest.

Mississippi added a rape exception in 1966. Colorado was the first state to incorporate the ALI exceptions in 1967. Thirteen states were using the ALI exceptions template by the time Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.

I discovered my conception story in 2005, and the news was initially devastating. I have thought about my conception every day since, but, the initial pain has been replaced by a powerful pro-life energy and purpose. What is still devastating is the constant push for “exceptions” in law. It is quite a significant betrayal when the exception efforts come from the pro-life side. Their efforts, projecting them back to 1957, would have resulted in not protecting my life. Today, the exceptions target tens of thousands of babies when they are added to pro-life legislation. Our collective efforts at Save The 1 work to end the exceptions era and explain why exceptions are bad pro-life policy.

Unfortunately, those who advocate for exceptions never tell anyone when the rape exception era will end. They never tell us what has to happen in order to permanently eliminate the exceptions. They don’t seem to believe that the exceptions strategy is a broken strategy. They don’t make the connection between the rape exception and the history of the Roe v. Wade decision. They deemphasize the rape exception by saying that it only amounts to 1% of cases. This may be the most common rationale behind the promotion of the rape exception.

What is behind the facade of that 1% deflection? How can you say to a targeted group of people, “Sorry, there just aren’t enough of you to work very hard to protect?” There is a number that beyond which no one in the pro-life community could ignore. They never tell us what that number is, if they’ve even considered what it should be. It is clear that 1% is not enough. And, it is the ultimate cruelty. It is cruel to the rape-conceived. It is saying: “Your numbers are not significant enough to make it worthwhile to fight for your protection.” It is also cruel to women. Cruel and shocking. I don’t think anyone that supports exceptions has even considered it.

Being 1% is not yet enough to achieve legal protection for the rape-conceived. In order for that number to be higher and “significant” enough to be noticed, even MORE women would have to be raped and pregnant. Can you think of anything crueler than that? Is that really what it is going to take to end the “exceptions” era? Must we add countless more traumatized women to the 1% in order to surpass the mystery magic number necessary to purge exceptions from orthodox pro-life strategy? The obvious answer is NO! 1% is way more than enough.

Our founder and President, Rebecca Kiessling, discusses how exceptions impacted the Roe v. Wade decision in this article.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/rebecca-kiessling/the-trouble-with-unprincipled-incrementalism-and-allowing-for-exceptions/10150193880073154/

And this previous Save The 1 article expands on the point about the broken strategy.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/rape-exceptions-in-congress-a-broken-record

Please visit our SaveThe1.com website to learn the best responses to the defenses of the rape exception and answers to the questions you may hear. Please add the arguments presented in this short essay to bolster the information you will find on our website.

BIO
Jim Sable is a husband and father of 4 -- 3 biological sons and one recently-adopted daughter from China. He and his wife Wendy are both adopted. Conceived in rape, Jim is also a Board Member, national pro-life speaker and pro-life blogger for Save The 1.

“Your life should be an exception, you shouldn’t be born.”

Sounds harsh, right?

Can you imagine going up to another human being and telling them they don’t have the right to live? It’s unthinkable some people actually deem it acceptable to look into the eyes of another human being created in the image of God, and proclaim they shouldn’t have been born.

If you’re pro-life, you are probably nodding your head in agreement.

But what about protecting babies conceived in rape? Shouldn’t we advocate just as fiercely to protect their lives as well?

You see, I’m one of those babies who was conceived in rape. And only by the grace of God, I survived to tell my story.

My birth mother decided not to have an abortion, but she also chose not to keep me. In fact, when she brought me into this world, the hospital barely let her hold me, for fear she’d get attached.

I wasn’t even given a name.

So there I was, a nameless baby conceived in the most horrific of circumstances, without a home.

Heather Ann as a child.

Thankfully, she placed me up for adoption, and at two months old I was adopted by two loving parents. Since it was a closed adoption, I was told I would never be able to meet my birth mother. But through volunteers we were able to put together the pieces, and when I was 19 years old, I met her.

She wasn’t surprised I found her. She mentioned if I was anything like her, she knew I’d find her one day. Looking back, I now see it was God’s hand who orchestrated the entire thing.

As I talked with her, she began to fill in the gaps. More importantly, she answered the question I’ve wondered my whole life, -- “Why was I not wanted, why was I given up?”

But nothing could have prepared me for her answer.

When my birth mother was 19 years old, she was drugged and raped.

As I heard her tell the story, it felt as though I were choking on glass, I felt dazed, and my heart rate increased as I listened to how I was brought into this world.

I was the daughter of a rapist.

She went on to mention how she was young, and knew she couldn’t care for me. She wanted me to have the best home possible with two parents, so she placed me up for adoption to give me a chance to thrive and succeed in life, which I have.

I am thankful she did, but the inherent shame I felt concerning how I was conceived deepened, and stayed with me for many years.

At the time, I wasn’t yet saved, sure I knew Jesus, but I didn’t really know Him. Using the gap as a stronghold, the enemy exploited my pain and shame to torment me.

But 10 years later, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and my life forever changed. The Lord picked up the shattered pieces of my past, and made beauty from ashes.

I understand now, my birth mother placed me up for adoption because she loved me, and wanted the best, not because I was an unwanted baby. And today I know, I am a daughter of the King, and my identity is in Christ.

I’m thankful God spared my life, and now I want to do my part to advocate for other babies who don’t yet have a voice to fight for themselves.

Heather Ann at the 2017 March For Life in Washington D.C.

But you see, if it were up to most politicians, I wouldn’t be born. I would be deemed an exception, and sentenced to die, simply because of the way I was conceived.

So pro-lifers, I want to leave you with a challenge. Babies are dying, by no fault of their own. Sitting on the sidelines is easy. It’s comfortable. It won’t cause much disruption. But we aren’t called to live comfortable lives. We are called to speak up for the voiceless, the downcast, the orphans.

If not us, who?

Marching for life is a wonderful thing. It’s great to show up and network with pro-lifers across the country.

But it’s not enough.

Pictured from left to right: Yohanka Reyes, mother from rape and Executive Director of Mary's Pregnancy Resource Center, Heather Ann, child from rape and pro-life writer, and Rebecca Kiessling, child from rape and Save The 1 Founder and President.

Once you leave the streets of D.C. or wherever you march for life, I pray you take that same passion you have for protecting babies and channel your energy towards ensuring your elected officials will pass pro-life legislation, without the rape exception.

And to those of you involved in politics, who have the power to do good, do it. Don’t compromise. Don’t sell out. Don’t support legislation that has the rape exception.

Babies conceived in rape are still babies.

It’s time to wake up. We can’t go on killing innocent babies, nor deeming certain lives more valuable than others.

So pro-lifers, if you are really pro-life, be all in. Get off the fence. Stop compromising on life. Be unequivocally pro-life, without compromise, and without exception.

As Matthew 25:40 states “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.”

BIO: Heather Ann is the Operations Manager for a non-profit which provides respite care for children with disabilities. In addition, she is a published freelance writer, and has written for various organizations, including Save The 1. Heather is a fierce advocate for unborn babies, and believes every baby has the right to be born, regardless of how they were conceived. You can follow her here.

I saw the recent news that Governor Tom Wolf vetoed the 20 week abortion ban here in Pennsylvania, highlighting the fact that the ban had no rape exception -- even though he knows darn well he would have vetoed the bill anyway. This makes me so angry that politicians think that innocent children like my grandchild are not worth saving. These children are our future! One of these children killed in the womb could have discovered a cure for cancer, become president or hundreds of other amazing things.

I am a mother of a child who was raped and impregnated when she was just a child herself at the age of 11, and I have been raising that child conceived in rape as my own for the last 13 years. To be exact, she turned 13 the day the Governor released his statement on his veto.. And this is her birthday gift from our Governor?!

Like most young pregnant rape victims, my daughter's pregnancy wasn't discovered until
later in the pregnancy. Not that my daughter would have considered abortion, but this 20 week abortion ban would have protected the life of my granddaughter -- especially if the rapist had tried to coerce my daughter into aborting. You see, my granddaughter's DNA was the evidence used to put this child molester in prison. But with abortion, the rapist would have been protected. Gov. Wolf's veto will protect rapists. The baby actually helped my daughter heal because her life gave my daughter someone else to fight for. But Gov. Wolf doesn't understand that.

I can honestly say abortion is wrong, knowing what I know today. Would I have wanted my granddaughter aborted? No! With her special needs, it's extremely hard parenting her some days, but her life still has value and she is worthy of life.

So that being said . . . ,

Dear Governor Wolf:

You say that this bill was criminalizing a woman's "right to health care." What about the rights of the unborn child? What about my granddaughter's life that you criminalize? The bill did not deny a woman the right to prenatal care. It didn't even prevent women from obtaining an abortion -- it just said there was a cut off date. The bill was trying to protect unborn babies from dying the most heinous of deaths.

To Mayor Kenney:

You claim second trimester abortions are safe. But sir, that is a bold-faced lie. They're never safe for the baby. And, the further along a woman is, the more dangerous it is. There's a greater chance of becoming infertile, needing an emergency hysterectomy due to the uterus being punctured, or even her worst-case scenario of death. You also claim it is victimizing the victim to expect her to carry "a rapist's baby." But is not that child made up of 50% of her DNA, making that child the rape victim's baby? Last time I checked, we humans are made up of 46 chromosomes and 23 come from each parent.

Instead of trying to stop a bill that protects life, why don't you get a bill passed that truly helps rape victims who have been impregnated by taking the rights away from rapists, without requiring the obstacle of a getting a rape conviction? And if she's lucky enough to get a rape conviction, why not make termination of his parental rights automatic? Then people like myself and my daughter who was raped and impregnated at 11 years of age would not be in the situation we're in today.

She made the difficult decision that an adult -- let alone a child -- should not have to make to have her daughter in her life as her sister, and I have been raising this child as my own for the last 13 years. But I am only her legal guardian because if my daughter were to give up her rights, he could get custody in Pennsylvania. So I cannot legally make my granddaughter my own, because Pennsylvania law protects the rapist, not the victim or her innocent child. This is traumatizing my daughter far more than carrying a child for 9 months and loving that child. So Gov. Wolf and those who support his veto -- you are all wrong in your assumptions.

While these politicians jockey to look good in public opinion, my family lives in constant fear that when the man who raped my daughter is released from prison, he could be given visitation or even custody some day.

To the Executive Director of New Voice for Reproduction Justice:

Instead of promoting abortion as a means of controlling reproduction, how about spending your time educating and promoting respect for women instead? How about working to punish rapists and protect these mothers from the rapist?

And lastly, to Dr. Erica Goldblatt Hyatt:

You say women can somehow have freedom through the vetoing of this bill and can just trust the science. Well to that I say, if you really are trusting the science, then you would know that science has proven over and over that life starts at conception and the unborn child as young as 12 weeks can feel pain. So you are torturing an innocent baby when you rip them apart, while alive, when you perform a "D and E" procedure. You use the pregnant rape victim as an excuse to keep even late-term abortion legal for any reason.

To those who have been raped, I can't tell you how sorry I am that it happened to you, but trust me, killing an innocent baby is not going to make the pain go away or make you forget it any faster. But I can tell you that the minute you hold that child, you will feel love, because I know I did when my daughter's baby was born.

At first, I didn't want to see her because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to love her, and all babies deserve to be loved by their families. But when I held her, that fear disappeared and all I saw was my daughter in her. Even with all of these issues, I would not give her up for anything. She is as much my child as my other two are and I know my daughter loves her as much as she does her brother.

Life and death decisions should not be based on fear and prejudice, and neither should public policy. Shame on you Governor Wolf.

BIO: Michele Snook is a mother of two, grandmother to one, and a pro-life blogger for Save The 1.

of global news stories written in English about this young woman from El Salvador who was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison for aggravated homicide for the death of her child – all of them saying she was a rape victim, and just about all of them using her story to advocate for the legalization of abortion in El Salvador.  But it’s finally being reported – in Spanish in the Salvadorian news outlets, including Fiscalia General De Republica and ElSalvador.com  – that she was never raped, but at 18 years old, had a consensual relationship with the baby’s father, Henry David Vásquez Hernández.
founder and President of Save The 1, co-founder of Hope After Rape Conception, and author of the Heritage House ’76 pamphlet “Conceived in Rape:  A Story of Hope.”  Visit her website at www.rebeccakiessling.com

personal. It is our lives placed within the crosshairs -- these laws with exceptions are dehumanizing, demoralizing, and would have put our preborn lives at risk years ago, but most importantly, put others similarly-conceived at risk today. 2) We also object for long-term pro-life strategic reasons and present day, real world enforcement reasons.