What it does...

I've tried (along with most of the reality-based veterans) to give folks a taste of what it's like in combat and the effects of that on the human mind in the years that follow, dealing with post traumatic stress disorder and the effect it has on the vet and their family. In light of the South Dakota abortion ruling (hateful cocksuckers), ReddHedd relays a personal experience and illustrates the after effects of rape are almost the same as combat troops face:

...

As I said, I was young -- but despite how horribly brutal the rape was, I was lucky. I never had to face the choice of an abortion because I did not get pregnant. Thank God.

But every single time I hear someone talk about being pro-life without giving a thought to the woman involved, I cringe. Because I could have easily been impregnated against my will. Violently, viciously impregnated.

And now, some young girl in South Dakota who is raped and finds herself pregnant will be forced to carry the child of her rapist, feeling it grow and move, a daily reminder of the rape -- with the flashbacks, the terror, the nightmares, the gut-wrenching fear -- everything that you have to overcome after being raped, along with handling the emotions and the responsibilities that come along with a pregnancy. [my em]

...

And again, the loudest voices in the 'pro-life' movement are men, the group most uniquely unqualified to comment on the female experience. The 'pro-lifers' merely want to keep women from having sex and punish them if they do. Being forced to carry the child of your rapist, I believe, is criminal in itself.

...

Last I checked, rape and incest victims didn't ask for the violent, terrifying, horrible action taken against them. But clearly someone in South Dakota disagrees.

...

You might as well send these poor women to Iraq. The effect on them will be the same.

Update:

Democratic Veteran adds his two cents.