encyclopedia of adoption

rape

Forcible sexual intercourse; also includes statutory rape and "acquaintance rape" or "date rape."

Some children are conceived as the result of rape, which is one of the key arguments in favor of legal abortion. Should the woman wish to continue her pregnancy, she may opt to arrange an adoption for her child.

If the mother does not know her attacker and never identifies him, she cannot provide important medical and social information for social workers to pass on to adoptive parents.

Whether or not the circumstances of the adopted person's birth should be revealed or how it should be phrased are open to argument; however, most experts believe that this information certainly should not be shared until the child is an adolescent or an adult. If at all possible, the information should also not be provided to friends or relatives who may inadvertently leak it to the adopted person.

The fact that rape, including incestuous rape, can lead to pregnancy and in some cases to adoption, is one of the reasons many privacy advocates, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, support laws guaranteeing CONFIDENTIALITY be respected.

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