As someone conceived in rape, Ryan Bomberger is emphasizing the dignity and worth of every human person, regardless of how he or she was conceived.
“I am that 1% that’s used 100% of the time to justify abortion,” Bomberger, the co-founder and chief creative officer of the Radiance Foundation, a life-affirming nonprofit, told Our Sunday Visitor. “No innocent human life deserves death, certainly none in the womb.”
Bomberger, a pro-life advocate whose birth mother chose life and adoption for him after experiencing the violence of rape, responded to a recent research letter covered by several major news outlets called “Rape-Related Pregnancies in the 14 U.S. States With Total Abortion Bans.”
The authors of the letter, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, estimated that 519,981 rapes were associated with 64,565 pregnancies in 14 states that banned abortion following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which once legalized abortion nationwide. The numbers, the authors say, indicate that women who have been raped and become pregnant cannot obtain legal abortions in their home state.
“The study, first of all, is saying that someone like me should be dead,” Bomberger responded. “So it’s hard to have any different perspective other than I disagree wholeheartedly.”
He cited the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive research organization once associated with Planned Parenthood, which has conducted surveys finding that 1% of women obtaining abortions indicated that they were victims of rape.
“This is what pro-abortion activists do all the time,” Bomberger stressed. “They exploit the tragedy of rape in order to promote the tragedy of abortion.”
Experts have since called the research letter flawed with misleading figures and conflicts of interest.
Looking at the study
Bomberger also called the study rife with conflicts of interest, beginning with the lead author, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Montana.
“Samuel L. Dickman is a Planned Parenthood abortionist who profits from killing those conceived in rape as well as many others conceived under any other circumstance,” Bomberger said.
At another point, he referenced a recent NPR article where Dickman reveals that some of his patients tell him they became pregnant after rape.
“Why aren’t the pro-abortion advocates talking about punishing the rapist?” Bomberger responded. “My question is, one, was there any counseling offered before or after? Did you report the crimes? And if you didn’t, why aren’t these being reported?”
Bomberger also highlighted that the letter was published by the American Medical Association (AMA) in its journal, JAMA Internal Medicine. He identified the AMA, which considers abortion healthcare, as “radically pro-abortion.”
“It is the sloppiest science I have seen,” Bomberger said of the published research. “What makes me so upset is that I’ve read probably 20 different mainstream news articles on this. Not one of them questioned it.”
A pro-life response
Bomberger shared how pro-life Americans can respond to the issue of abortion after rape.
“My take, as someone who was conceived in rape but adopted in love, is, I still care for my birth mom,” he said. “We have to care for the victims of rape and what they need.”
Instead of abortion, he advocated for the authentic healing and counseling of those who have experienced the horrific violence of rape.
“What they don’t need is someone profiting off of their pain and fear, which is what abortion is,” he said. “We have to stop looking at abortion as some sort of natural follow-up to rape.”
Bomberger stressed that abortion not only harms the baby but also the mother, regardless of the reason why she seeks the abortion. He called for caring for both mother and child.
“We have to care [for] the person who is the victim [of rape] and … we have to be ever cautious about not creating the second victim, which is, of course, the child of the womb.”
He encouraged pro-life advocates to speak up and not be afraid.
“When we speak up and we speak truth and we speak hope, we give people the opportunity to be set free,” he said at another point. “We give people the opportunity to actually experience healing.”
A special message
As someone who has spoken with several victims of rape, Bomberger shared his message for women who may be pregnant after rape.
“I would say [to] those women who’ve experienced such a violation … that there’s another side of the story, there’s the other side of this pain,” he said. “They can be stronger than their circumstances.”
He also drew from his Christian faith.
“I believe that we serve a God who can bring us through everything and anything,” he said. “And we can get through those things not on our own strength.”
He cited Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“That applies to every situation we face in our humanity,” he said. “It’s no different for those who face the violence of rape, that they don’t have to also then face the violence of abortion.”
He wanted them to know that they are not alone.
“There are people who love you,” he said. “There are pregnancy centers that will counsel you and will stand with you and will journey with you — not just until your child is born, but even for years after.”
“There are people who have been exactly where you are,” he added, “and you can come out stronger.”
