Our human value is inherent and irrevocable. Equality begins when we begin at conception—even in the case of rape.
Those are some of the poignant thoughts expressed by Ryan Bomberger in a recent op-ed at Lifenews.com. Bomberger, the co-founder of the Radiance Foundation, is a self-described pro-life “factivist” who often shares his testimony to counter the argument that abortion should be allowed in the case of rape.
“Some say that I should have been aborted. I am the 1% that is used 100% of the time to justify abortion,” he says in a new Radiance Foundation ad. “My birth mom was a victim of the violence of rape, but I’m so grateful that she didn’t make me a victim of the violence of abortion.”
In the one-minute ad, Bomberger—who was adopted by a loving family and is a married father of four—declares that triumph can rise from tragedy.
“My birth mom’s courage proved that to be true. She was stronger than abortion, and her resilience will have beautiful reverberations for generations,” he said. “I was conceived in rape, but adopted in love.”
In his op-ed, entitled “I Was Conceived in Rape and I’m Tired of Being Everyone’s Abortion Exception,” Bomberger writes about how the tragedy of rape is being politically exploited in order to justify all abortions. It’s not because of a “sudden surge of compassion for rape victims,” but is being used as a fear tactic to engender more acceptance of abortion-on-demand.
“My birth mom deserved better. The rapist deserved the worst. Yet many would argue I deserved a more severe punishment than the criminal,” Bomberger said, in reference to the 1977 Coker v. Georgia Supreme Court case that ruled a rapists could not receive the death penalty.
“How do the innocent have lower status as human beings than rapists?” asks Bomberger. “None of us control the circumstances of our conception, so why should any child pay the price for the crime of the parent?”
In his book, The Alternative to Abortion: Why We Must Be Pro Abundant Life,” Care Net CEO and President Roland Warren includes a section devoted to answering those who are pro-life except in cases of rape. He would agree with Bomberger’s contention that being in favor of abortion in this scenario holds more compassion for the rapist than the child:
What is it about rape that we find so abhorrent? It’s because someone used their power against someone more vulnerable. You see, the same reason we have such disdain for rape is the same reason we must reject abortion. Interestingly, when I have heard the compelling stories of compassionate and courageous women who were raped and yet gave birth, they are rejecting abortion for this reason.
Specifically, they refuse to let the rapist extend his power through them to the little one in their womb by having an abortion… They have the most compassion for the most vulnerable.
In his op-ed at Lifenews.com, Bomberger advocates for adoption for children conceived in rape, writing that “everyone is wanted by someone.” He grew up in a family of 15 where he was the first of 10 adopted children in a multiracial family. Today, he is the father of four children, who loves his two biological and adopted children equally.
“I’m here because my birth mom was stronger than her circumstances, stronger than the rapist. Her strength defeated his brutality,” he said.
“Part of my mission in life is to debunk the mainstream media’s pro-abortion narratives that hate stories like mine.”