The Forced Abortion Among Us

When a woman is pregnant her biological life embraces the embryonic life of another. When
she later nurtures children, her needs will embrace their needs. The experience of being human,
for women, differentially from men, includes the counter-autonomous experience...for the
emotional and psychological bond between mother and infant (Ortiz 85). With that quote being
acknowledged it is no ones choice but the woman herself, rather to embrace this or choose to an
abortion. A forced abortion, or coerced abortion, occurs when a woman undergoes an abortion
against her own wishes. Coercion often involves the threat of physical harm, blackmail or other
acts in order to force a pregnant girl or woman to have an abortion. As wrong as this may sound,
does this treatment toward women, teens, and girls still exist today?
Just to cover the history of abortion, abortion began when the women's liberation movement
of the 1960s and 70s reached its peak when women won the right to choose an abortion and the
Supreme Court legalized the procedure in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case. Women made the right to
abortion a central demand of their movement because they understood that women could never
be equal without control over their reproductive lives. The right to abortion is especially
necessary in a society that ultimately expects women to bear the financial and emotional
responsibilities of raising children, but pays women much lower wages than men. The decision
to carry a pregnancy to term must be the womans and no one else, not the churchs,
governments, parents, husbands, or boyfriends. When abortions were outlawed before Roe v.
Wade, it did not stop them from happening at all. It just made them humiliating, unsafe, and too
often fatal. It is estimated that approximately one million women had illegal abortions annually
before the procedure was legalized in 1973, which directly resulted in the deaths of some 5,000

women every year. This movement was born out of woman's anger at the sexist injustices they
faced on a daily basis.
So how could something that stemmed from such a pro choice situation lead to a decision that
some women are forced into making. Forced abortion, or coerced abortion, is one of the abortion
industrys dirty little secrets. It can involve personal blackmail or even violence from families or
partners. It can involve exploitation by employers; school, social services or pastoral counselors;
or trusted medical advisors. It may happen when individuals or couples already under pressure
seek answers, referrals or a helping hand. Coercion can escalate to violence or even homicide
which is the number one killer of pregnant women.
Planned Parenthood is the face behind many abortions today, especially in Chicago. I will
begin with saying that I am not against Planned Parenthood, Im one whos against some of their
methods, but since the beginning of time they have been in the business of coercing abortions.
The founder of planned parent is a woman by the name of Margaret Sanders. Her views and
beliefs on women and abortion was not only that it is there choice, but when asked about babies
such as African American, immigrants and indigents she quotes human weeds,' 'reckless
breeders,' 'spawning... human beings who never should have been born (Sanger 45). Margaret
Sanger was one who since the beginning felt the right to coerce people into abortions if she felt
that the child they would bear would be in her opinion, unfit. She quoted in the Birth Control
Review of 1921 the purpose in promoting birth control was to create a race of thoroughbreds
She felt that only qualified children should be born, and in the Birth Control Review of 1932
she quoted couples should be required to submit applications to have a child (Sanger 107).
These are just a few of her views regarding abortion.

In Chicago Planned is the face behind many of the abortions around us. The feeling that some
womens and teens get when being coerced within Planned Parenthood stemmed from a strong
place. Yes many of their views have changed but they still account for some of the reason why
they feel the need to coerce some. Even though Planned Parenthood and other abortionists deny
it, post-abortive women confirm the grim truth that most abortions nearly two out of three
involve pressure, coercion or even violence against pregnant women. In a study of 252 women
it was reported that 53% felt forced into the abortion by others (Reardon 1). This has become in
some way a duty to the women's body in the hands of others in making the decision. Many
pregnant women have been killed by partners trying to prevent the birth. Simply being pregnant places
women at higher risk of being attacked, and women are aware of these risks. No Planned Parenthood

does not coerce every woman into abortion but in some cases after knowing a womans situation
rather it be because she cant afford a baby, her spouse is not ready etc. they can tend to lean
more towards abortion rather than giving a female a balanced view.
There are different ways for a woman to be forced into abortion. For example many teens
are forced by parents. Many parents feel that if a female is young and living under there care, it
is up to them to decide whether she should go through with the birth of her child. Although
parents may feel that their motives are correct and that they are doing well by their child, it is
still unfair. In all actuality it is her body, and her decision.
Below is interview, and the woman has chosen to go anonymous. She tells a story of being a
teen who mother took force to an extreme level.
Interviewer: Nasiyah Richardson
Interviewee: 19,F Chicago, Anonymous
Q. How were old were you found out you were pregnant
A. I was 17 and a Junior in high school.
Q. What were you feelings when you first found out?

A.I didnt know how to feel I was somewhat excited but I didnt know how to feel, all I could
thing about was what was everybody gonna think, and I didnt wanna be a disappointment.

Q. How long after you knew, did your mother find out?
A.I went a week struggling with the news without telling anyone. I was so scared but when you
find out news that big your mom is someone you wanna go to. So after a week I told her.

Q. On that initial day when she found out, what can you remember being her first reaction?
A. She actually was very quiet. We were both standing in her room and I remember it being so
awkward tears fell from my eyes because I just wanted her to say something, anything. And after
a couple of minutes the first words that came out of her mouth was "you know youre getting a
abortion right?

Q. And how did you respond to this

A. I didnt really know what to say at the time, I mean, she was mom and I was scared.

Q. When did things shift for you and your decision to get an abortion or not?
A. My decision began to immediately change because I knew that abortion was something I
should look into, but I also knew that this was my baby, which should make it my decision.

Q. How did you begin to show your mom your own honest views about deciding abortion?
A. Well she took it upon herself to schedule my abortion herself. I was so shocked at how she
was going about this I immediately told her that I was refusing to go, and thats the first time
where I didnt care how she felt about it.

Q. How did your mom begin to act toward you?

A. She kept on telling me that I wasnt ready and began to brush me off saying my life was over.
I was being hit with such a cold shoulder at such a needy time for me. This is when verbal abuse
began.

Q. When you use the term verbal abuse what do you mean? Can you give me any examples?
A. She would say things like, youre choosing to be on welfare for the rest of my life, she
would tell me that if I keep the baby I would be bring a bastard into the house, she would say that
I would make a horrible mother and continue to just tell me how dumb I was to even consider
keeping the baby.

Q. So tell me about the day of the appointment

A. (breathes deeply) The day of the appointment I was focused on coming up with a reason why
I couldnt go. I was so nervous because I knew how she would react.

Q. And what was her reaction to your decision

A.This is this is the first time my mother took it upon herself to take physical action with me,
when I told her that I wasnt going she grabbed me and I just remember her yelling and trying to
drag me to the car. I was screaming so loud because I didnt want her to hurt the baby but she
was so determined. I fought back which is what she said was a very big mistake. She dragged me
as far as down the front steps and I was yelling so loud that neighbors came out of the house and
thats when she let me go. I was so embarrassed

Q. What were the days like after this day?

A. The relationship between me and my mom was very bad around this time. We barely spoke to
each other because she would act as if she couldnt stand the sight of me. She treated me as if I
was such an awful person for making my own decision. Sometimes I would feel bad because I
knew that she just thought that by getting the abortion it would be the best choice for me but I
just wanted her understand that the best choice for me is my choice

Q. During this time how can you describe yourself emotionally

A.I would say that I went through a lot emotionally. Sometimes when youre pregnant you can
get a feeling of being alone and my mother didnt help at all. I mean she was my mother
someone I felt would be there for me no matter what. This affected me a lot mentally, I
continuously battled with feeling like I should have gotten the abortion just so I wont have to
deal with the way I feeling. I live in a poor neighborhood in Chicago, we were struggling and I
understood how much this baby would cost me but I felt like I was crazy because I didnt care.

Q. Did any of the physical abuse or verbal abuse continue once your mother concluded that you
were to keep the child?
A. Yes, because we would argued a lot. I was living under her roof which made it very easy for
her to belittle me and treat like I was nothing.
This interview shows just one example of a teen forced by a parent. This goes on all around us
but there is usually no one there to help the young girl and this is what she is forced to go
through, all because of a parent who is unable to wrap their minds into the fact that it is her body,
and her decision.
The connection a mother has with her child when she is pregnant, only a woman can
understand. So many times when women are pregnant the man they are with whether it is their
husband or boyfriend, they dont initially gain the attraction. This is what forces a lot of women
to be coerced or forced into abortion by their significant other. Women are beat and talked down
upon all to convince her that abortion is whats best even if its not what she wants.

This coercion or forcing of abortion puts a woman at being a victim. Victims are coerced
into abortion by others around them, in spite of their confusion and ambivalence and against their
basic maternal instincts (Arthur 1).
From such a young age females are given the impression that the want for children, even
though it is in a womans nature, that it is not good. Birth control is thrown at females at such a
young age. Yes birth control is meant to protect females from unwanted pregnancies which in
my opinion is okay, but the health risk around them are very severe. I feel that this too should be
a females choice rather than something that someone insist they should take. I say that because if
a woman is to put herself at a risk it should be after she have researched about the different types
of birth controls and feel that this is a choice she wants to make.
Like stated above I am not one who is against birth control, but I do see it as serious because
of the health risk behind it. Any young girl or woman who is on hormonal birth control for 4
years prior to their first full term pregnancy increases their breast cancer risk by 52% (Giroux
1). Another factor behind birth control is that women who use hormonal birth control for more
than 5 years are four times more likely to develop cervical cancer(Giroux 1).With risk like this
it is only the woman herself who should choose to take birth control. Many women never get the
chance to find out this information on their own before they are coerced into thinking this is the
best option for their body.
Although these issues of forced abortion and the coercion of birth for the many reasons that
some do it, this problem is not just one that is local. It is even a bigger issue in places like India,
when so many women are forced into abortion because they dont bear a male baby. As extreme
as this sound this is also something that we also face around us. It may not be as direct as the

extreme situations in India but it is still happening. We more so call it the use of reproductive
technology. Reproductive technology was invented to help families who didnt want to pass
down disease so they used this as a method to dissect the embryos in an attempt to avoid it. Since
then there are so many other reasons why couples find themselves under the misuse of
reproductive technology. To produce males people are going as far as the use of sperm sorting
to choose a babies gender (Belkin 1).
Among all women being forced into abortion is of course, no matter what the situation is, it is
her choice. Ive always been one to hear of forced abortion in other countries but never one to
actually realize that it goes on around me. Abortion is something that is emotional and
psychological and that it why is should a choice. Most women who have an abortion will suffer a
degree from a variant post-traumatic stress disorder called post-abortion syndrome. It is
characterized by severe and long lasting guilt, depression, rage, and social and sexual
dysfunction (Arthur 1). These are serious issues and it further proves that it should only be the
womens choice and to undergo such a situation.
Forced and coerced abortion is something that you dont realize surrounds you and
something that you dont realize is the cause of many abortions. Doing research under this topic,
showed me a lot a aspects of females who are forced and coerced into abortion. Seeing the
history of Planned Parenthood and founder of it explained a lot into why some women feel
coerced into abortion when talking with them. Many women who are pregnant tend to go to
others in search of advice; they go to parents, spiritual leaders, their spouses etc. which can cause
them at times to be coerced. And when women go to their spouses in extreme cases it can turn
fatal because the woman does not agree with his views. Women can fall victim to abortion,

which is wrong regardless of the situation and regardless of how someone feels about it, it is her
body and it is her choice.