Why is abortion after rape very rare?

In my recent post Why Would a Rape Victim Choose Life I mentioned that pregnancy after rape is rare. The excellent book Who Broke the Baby by Jean Staker Garton gives the reasons why this is the case.

• Statistical odds against pregnancy resulting from any single sex act. Normally, women are only fertile one day a month, although sperm can live in her body for up to five days.
• Women subject to emotional trauma will not ovulate, even if under normal circumstances they would do so.
• Rape studies show a higher percentage of sterility and vasectomies among rapists.
• Pregnancies that might occur from rape can be prevented with immediate medical treatment given in the five or six intervening hours between the sex act and the union of egg and sperm.

Due to this, abortion after rape would be very rare if it was allowed as an exception to abortion laws.