Conceived in rape and adopted, David is grateful for his life

David Kimble* knew he was adopted, but he never sought information about his biological parentage until his first child was suspected of having a congenital health condition. The news led David to reflect on his own unknown medical history, and what he would discover about the circumstances surrounding his birth would stun him. 

Key Takeaways:

• David Kimble knew he was adopted, but it wasn't until he was married and starting a family that he wanted to know about his biological parents.

• After locating his mother, he learned that she didn't know who his father was. He was either her childhood boyfriend or a man who had raped her.

• A DNA test eventually showed that his biological father was the man who raped his mother.

• The experience has made Kimble more pro-life, and he believes every preborn child deserves his or her life.

The Details:

While Kimble's wife was pregnant with their first child, they were told that their baby had a congenital health condition. They underwent amniocentesis, as early testing often gives false positives.

“As my wife waited to undergo amniocentesis to confirm the diagnosis, she said whatever the outcome, she was adamant that she would not terminate the pregnancy,” Kimble told Live Action News.

It was a torturous five-week wait until the amniocentesis results revealed that the baby did not have a congenital condition after all. Despite the good news, Kimble couldn’t help but wonder if he should father more children, not knowing about his medical background.

Two years following the birth of his child, Kimble considered initiating a search for his biological parents to address the lingering questions he had regarding his genetic heritage.  

“I recall seeing my original birth certificate in my adoptive parents’ home which included my mother’s name, age and the city in which she was from," he said. So, he drove to her hometown library and located her picture in a high school yearbook. 

Then, Kimble discovered a program on AM radio that was dedicated to helping adoptees reconnect with their biological parents, providing him with additional guidance in his quest to locate his mother.

“I found my mother’s name through property records and located where she lived around the time of my birth,” Kimble said. “So, I visited her old neighborhood and saw a lady raking leaves. The woman remembered my mother’s family and told me my grandmother had a business in town.”

He found this grandmother’s business in the phone book’s white pages and called her.

Kimble said, “When I told her who I was, she cried, telling me she’d been wondering about my whereabouts for years. I discovered my mother was currently living in Alaska.”

Mother and son connected over the phone, and she later traveled back to her hometown, allowing the two to meet. It was then that Kimble learned he has two half-siblings.

A shocking revelation 

It wasn’t until after her visit that Kimble learned more about the circumstances that resulted in his conception.

Kimble reflected, “She wrote me a very long letter. In it, she told of a summer when she was 14 when she went to visit a boyfriend who moved to Texas. Her mother let her go for an extended period. During that time, she had sexual relations with him.”

One evening after returning home, Kimble's mother was with friends when she was raped by a 23-year-old married man.

“She didn’t know who my father was, given the situation," he said.

Not wanting to upset his adoptive parents, Kimble decided to keep quiet about what he had discovered — and he did — for a time.

“When I turned 50, my wife wanted to find my biological father,” Kimble explained. “She reached out to my mother, who gave her two names; one was a man now living in Israel and his brother in Miami.”

He eventually connected with his mother’s childhood boyfriend in Israel and sent him a DNA test.

Kimble said, “He wasn’t my biological father, so I knew then my father was the man who raped my mother. I later learned he had died in prison in 1988.”

Kimble’s reflection on his mother’s strength

As Kimble reflected on the journey that led him to discover his biological roots, he was moved by the strength his mother demonstrated as a young teenager. Kimble was grateful that his mother chose life. Although Roe v. Wade had not yet been decided when he was conceived, abortion was still available.

“She was very scared at the time,” he noted. “She didn’t want anyone to know what had happened and, although she had hoped her boyfriend had fathered her child, she also suspected the man who raped her.”

Kimble realized, too, that when his adoptive parents were unable to initially conceive biologically, they turned to adoption to build their family.

“They stood on the side of life as well so naturally, I, too, am pro-life,” Kimble said. "Even when they later had two biological children, they never treated their adoptive children any differently.”

Why It Matters:

Today, Kimble is a father to five children. He’s built a successful and affluent career and often finds ways to give back to his community. He believes abortion is abhorrent and wonders why, if most Americans are against late-term abortion, it’s still legal.

Kimble said, “Rape is such a horrific act. If my mother had access to abortion, she might have chosen differently. Yet a baby conceived in rape or incest had nothing to do with the act itself. My success story is not what the abortion industry wants people to hear.”

The pro-life movement, he noted, must continue to highlight the humanity of the baby in the womb to challenge the abortion activists’ mantra of, “it’s just a clump of cells.”

“Winning the simple battles is where it counts,” Kimble said. 

Kimble noted that meaningful progress in larger societal debates begins with individual actions and steadfast commitment to core principles.

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.