Contextual Biases in Judging Pregnant Rape Survivors Seeking Reproductive Healthcare in the U.S.

Objectives In the United States, abortion might be allowed under the stipulation of rape, forcing pregnant people to report their allegation to law enforcement or their physician. However, rape allegations are very seldomly made due to personal or institutional barriers. Although it is already difficult for pregnant cisgender women to access abortions under this stipulation, it might be even more difficult for pregnant people who are gender nonconforming and already subjected to prejudice and discrimination in reproductive healthcare. The current study examined whether respondents showed bias against pregnant rape survivors as a function of their gender identity, especially when they wanted to terminate their pregnancy.Methods A 4(Pregnant Survivor Gender: cisgender female, transgender male, nonbinary, cisgender female control) x 2(Decision: abortion, pregnancy) × 2 (Formal Allegation: yes, no) × 2(Participant Gender: male, female) between-subjects design was utilized. Participants read a vignette that manipulated gender identity, pregnancy decision, and whether a rape allegation was provided. They provided responses to various questions about the pregnant person, the rape allegation, and the abortion, as well as individual difference scales.Results Overall, participants’ responses indicated a bias against pregnant survivors who chose to get an abortion, and pregnant transgender men were rated as less normal than cisgender comparison targets. Factors irrelevant to the survivor’s actual rape allegation affected their credibility, such that participants believed the allegation more when the survivor kept the pregnancy compared to terminating it. Additionally, attitudes toward abortion and sexual and gender minorities were related to whether the survivors’ allegations were believed.Conclusions Negative attitudes toward gender nonconformity and abortion impacted perceptions of rape allegation believability in the current study, biases of which could potentially act as a barrier to pregnant persons accessing abortions in real life. This research has theoretical, social, and legal implications regarding social biases and potential access to abortion services.