Guest Post: The Testimony of a Child of Rape

Considering the turn the public debate this week has taken with the attempted character assassination of Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock over deliberately misconstrued comments he made about rape, abortion, and God, one of my Twitter followers – @Phillybama1 – volunteered to share the story of his birth. He is the child of a rape survivor and, needless to say, he feels very blessed that his mother did not abort him. Β Here is his story:

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β€œAnd I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen” –Richard Mourdock, October 23, 2012

My name is Scott Braddock, and I am a product of date rape. My birth mother gave me up for adoption 10 days after her 16th birthday in 1967. So, naturally, when Mr. Mourdock made these statements, they were certainly attention-getting, and quite personal for me.

For many, belief in the sanctity of life is based on one’s religious upbringing. That is not the case for me. If abortion were legal at the time and the laws regarding underage notification were as they are now, my birth mother told me I would have been aborted. She’s 61 years old now and much wiser and more mature, so that is obviously no longer the case.

I was adopted by two wonderful parents who were unable to have children, have led a completely blessed life, and now have a beautiful wife and two teenage children of my own. I have been blessed to have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, and am working at a demanding, yet satisfying job.

When I turned 25 and was newly married, I received a call from Catholic Charities. My birth mother was trying to contact me! Now I have a relationship with her and her husband, as well as three brothers and a sister. My adoptive parents have been supportive of this as well, which is a testament to their selflessness in raising me.

While I might not be a doctor or an educator, a scientist or engineer, didn’t I deserve the chance at life, even though I was the product of a rape? Also, as a Christian, is it proper for me to say that God allowed the rape to happen? I would certainly say so.Β  I close with a simple quote from Joseph in the book of Genesis, referring to his brothers selling him into slavery.

Genesis 50:20

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day.

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