Why is incest lumped together with rape?

TrueCrimson7 · May 20, 2019

I hear some advocate for abortion exceptions for "rape and incest." My question is: Why is incest lumped together with rape?

I understand that many pregnancies between blood relatives occur because of rape. But incestuous rape still falls under the umbrella of rape.

A baby of related kin has a higher likelihood of having certain birth defects. So do those who are generally against abortion but want exceptions for "rape and incest" say that pregnancy resulting from an incestuous relationship between consenting adults should be allowed elective termination because of a higher likelihood of birth defects?

Or is it that we have just lumped the term rape and incest together for so long that we haven't really thought about their differences?

TIDE-HSV · May 20, 2019

TrueCrimson7 said:
I hear some advocate for abortion exceptions for "rape and incest." My question is: Why is incest lumped together with rape?

I understand that many pregnancies between blood relatives occur because of rape. But incestuous rape still falls under the umbrella of rape.

A baby of related kin has a higher likelihood of having certain birth defects. So do those who are generally against abortion but want exceptions for "rape and incest" say that pregnancy resulting from an incestuous relationship between consenting adults should be allowed elective termination because of a higher likelihood of birth defects?

Or is it that we have just lumped the term rape and incest together for so long that we haven't really thought about their differences?

If there's a prosecution for incest when both parties are of age, both are prosecuted, because it's consensual. In cases of statutory rape, incest is usually an additional charge, if it exists...

AUDub · May 21, 2019

Gray area.

I think part of it is that it’s one of those things that sounds good on a list of exceptions, if you believe in exceptions at all.

Another part is that “rape and incest” often go hand in hand. Pregnancy from incest, while not always the result of a non-consensual relationship, often results from rape from a family member, whether it be forcible or statutory in nature, with things like grooming coming into play.

TrueCrimson7 · May 21, 2019

AUDub said:
Gray area.

I think part of it is that it’s one of those things that sounds good on a list of exceptions, if you believe in exceptions at all.

Another part is that “rape and incest” often go hand in hand. Pregnancy from incest, while not always the result of a non-consensual relationship, often results from rape from a family member, whether it be forcible or statutory in nature, with things like grooming coming into play.

Thank you for your comments.

I agree that incest is not a palatable thought for anyone. So it probably does sound good on a list of exceptions, until one thinks about it in an abortion context. Rape is rape, incestuous or not. So the quest for a "rape and incest" exception makes it seem as though some want an exception for incest that is not rape, but concensual. If people who are generally against abortion want to make an exception for rape, we can discuss that (in a separate thread). I just wonder if people who are generally against abortion really desire an exception for concensual incest, whether that be because it is a non-palatable thought or because they want to mitigate genetic errors in the population. It would seem paradoxical to the pro-life thinking to deny abortion due to non-incestuous congential abnormalities but allow abortion due to concensual incest.

TIDE-HSV · May 22, 2019

TrueCrimson7 said:
Thank you for your comments.

I agree that incest is not a palatable thought for anyone. So it probably does sound good on a list of exceptions, until one thinks about it in an abortion context. Rape is rape, incestuous or not. So the quest for a "rape and incest" exception makes it seem as though some want an exception for incest that is not rape, but concensual. If people who are generally against abortion want to make an exception for rape, we can discuss that (in a separate thread). I just wonder if people who are generally against abortion really desire an exception for concensual incest, whether that be because it is a non-palatable thought or because they want to mitigate genetic errors in the population. It would seem paradoxical to the pro-life thinking to deny abortion due to non-incestuous congential abnormalities but allow abortion due to concensual incest.

As above, "consensual incest" is rare to the point of being almost nonexistent. I can't even think of the last prosecution I heard of for relations between consenting adults. It probably hasn't happened in the last 75 years. In fact, some states have repealed their laws criminalizing relations between consenting adults...

jthomas666 · May 22, 2019

TIDE-HSV said:
As above, "consensual incest" is rare to the point of being almost nonexistent. I can't even think of the last prosecution I heard of for relations between consenting adults. It probably hasn't happened in the last 75 years. In fact, some states have repealed their laws criminalizing relations between consenting adults...

Clearly, you've never been to Westeros...

TIDE-HSV · May 22, 2019

jthomas666 said:
Clearly, you've never been to Westeros...

No, just talking about the real, legal world...

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Why is incest lumped together with rape?

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