Rebacca Kiessling, a woman conceived by rape, has called on the authorities to punish rapists not babies. Speaking at a conference organised by the Life Network Foundation, the 46-year-old from Michigan gave a heartfelt plea for Maltese authorities not to consider the introduction of abortion, not even in cases of rape.
“Abortion will simply add more violence to an already violent issue,” she insisted while addressing members of the media.
Accompanied by Miriam Sciberras, the mother of five has come all the way from the United States as she fears “Malta could be at risk, like many other countries, to introduce abortion.” Dr Kiessling, who is a lawyer, has founded an organisation to help rape victims and people who, like her, were conceived by rape. “The battle for this cause is all over the globe, and I intend to fight it.”
Dr Kiessling intends to meet with local legislators and policy makers.
She explained how her mother was raped by a serial rapist and considered committing abortion twice. “I was not lucky, I was protected,” she says. “My life was spared and I want to provide a voice to the voice less.”
“It is very barbaric to punish an innocent unborn child for a crime committed by someone else. We speak about protecting rapists from the death penalty but when it comes to abortion, we are willing to sacrifice the life of a baby.”
Asked to comment on the morning after pill, Dr Kiesling said that the people need to understand how it works. “They tell them that it will not terminate pregnancy when in fact it can.”
“The military never drops a drone strike if there is the slightest doubt that there is someone in the building. So why don’t we also err in the side of caution when it comes to save a baby still in the womb?”
Rebecca Kiessling will be attending a walk organised by the Life Network Foundation which will be held on Saturday.