Sometimes being a woman is indistinguishable from being the girl in the horror movie

I have been thinking recently about pregnancy. A couple of my friends are pregnant, and this is a really exciting thing for them: they want to be pregnant, in one case went to a fair amount of effort to be pregnant, and although it is not without its trials, they seem to be taking joy in it, and their joy is beautiful.

Then there is Joseph Fritzl. I find this case so horrifying that my brain only lets me comprehend it in pieces; I can't hold the whole of it within my mind. But eventually it occurred to me that in the twenty years of repeatedly raping his daughter, she had seven children. One might be an accident, but seven could only be deliberate on his part. Not content to imprison and rape her, he also repeatedly impregnated her, because he could.

And this isn't, actually, that uncommon: This 2007 study reports that in abusive relationships, about 1/4 of girls report that their partner is actively attempting to force pregnancy on them. Their rapists want to control even their reproductive capacity.¹

More: Rape as a weapon of war occurs especially during ethnic conflicts:

In Bosnia, systematic rape was used as part of the strategy of ethnic cleansing. Women were raped so they could give birth to a Serbian baby. In Rwanda, systematic rape of Tutsi women took place during the genocide. Between 300,000 and 500,000 female survivors of the genocide are estimated to have been raped. MSF

Oklahoma recently required, required, women seeking abortion to have either an abdominal or vaginal ultrasound, which she is then required to view (and 'think about' for one hour) but neither she nor her doctor may choose which. Here is how a vaginal ultrasound is performed. There is no exception for rape or incest.³

RAINN's statistics estimate a 5% pregnancy rate as a result of rape. They say that 34% percent of sexually assaulted children were assaulted by a family member. Six states in the US do not require a parent to be notified in the event of a minor seeking abortion. 22 states require parental consent.

1. I nearly titled this entry "When pregnancy is battery", but then I thought, 'does anyone really need to see that when scrolling down their flist?' Yeah, no.
2. (In searching for these links, I came upon 'feminists for life', where a woman argued that while a raped woman might initially feel some disconnect from a child conceived in rape, given a chance, they would bond. I can't even.)
3. One more rather isane-o point: these people apparently have the idea that the pill is an abortifacient. (um, no) Their moto is "the pill kills." If that's the case, then so does your menstrual cycle, and if they want to legislate against menstruation, they can be my guest.

Honestly, this stuff is so horrible that I'm posting it mostly to get it out of my brain. You are really under no obligation to read it.

Hey, Corey Doctorow's Little Brother is available for free download, and contains zero rapes so far, y'all! It's nice and up-beat!