Kathy Barnette and the Case Against Terminating Rape Pregnancies

The political battle in Pennsylvania over the Republican primary for the US Senate Seat has peaked with the race getting closer between the two top candidates. Despite President Trump’s endorsement, Dr. Oz is seeing rising popularity of pro-life veteran Kathy Barnette. Conservative media is also divided like never before on the two candidates both claiming MAGA.

After appearing on Glenn Beck’s show on Thursday (May 12, 2022), Kathy Barnette bagged the endorsement of Andrew Torba, CEO of Gab. Torba praised her as the homeschooling Christian mom with the most powerful pro-life campaign. Also on Thursday, Newsmax’s Greg Kelly called Barnette “phony” and added, “She sounds like, well, woke, liberal Mayor Bill de Blasio.”

Whatever level of conservatism Barnette appears to hold in this battle may be different to different people, but her unique appeal as a pro-life candidate cannot be overlooked in the context of her revelation that she is the child resulting from rape. On May 3, Barnette tweeted her campaign video, showing her testimony and that of her mother. She wrote:

I’m the byproduct of rape. My mother was eleven when I was conceived. In the world the Left desires, I would never have been born.

I’m the byproduct of rape. My mother was eleven when I was conceived.

In the world the Left desires, I would never have been born.

We need leaders with a steady hand to direct our nation through these difficult discussions.

Help me by sharing my story:https://t.co/JNGw8gNts0 pic.twitter.com/lqzufvxzQR

— Kathy Barnette (@Kathy4Truth) May 3, 2022

Barnette’s tweet came as a direct call against terminating rape pregnancies and it immediately clicked with pro-life conservatives and media, particularly Christian news outlets. The Christian Post was one of the conservative publications that featured Barnette’s story and highlighted what could be considered by some an extreme pro-life stance. The words “the sanctity of life, of all life, regardless of their conception, regardless of how they arrived” from her quote say it all about the case for carrying rape pregnancies to term.

Barnette’s call for giving children of rape pregnancies a chance is daring, both politically and culturally. This morning, Fox News reported on the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) backing Kathy Barnette with a six-figure campaign ad for her. The group endorsed her for being a “courageous advocate for life.”

The rationale behind supporting abortion in rape pregnancy cases is nothing less than twisted. Coming mostly from liberals, it justifies killing the unborn child, who is innocent. At the same time, liberals oppose death penalty for rape. In other words, they support the violator’s right to live but not that of the baby conceived accidentally.

The stereotypical way of thinking of a rape pregnancy is a stain, a bad seed. But Barnette’s story challenges that view. As a veteran who became a responsible citizen and served the country, now running for senate, she shows that the baby in the womb is an opportunity for the woman wronged—the opportunity to pay back the world with good that will fight the very evil leading to its birth.