When It's Not Her Choice

Karli Olson
Jun 7, 2016
4 min read

When a woman has an abortion, it is because she makes the choice for herself, right? Well, not always. True, women will commonly make the decision to abort without any outside influence. But what is less known is that a staggering amount of women are forced or coerced into having an abortion that they do not want. Of course, pro-choice advocates will claim that this is a falsehood. After all, abortions are supposed to "empower" women to make decisions about their own bodies! However, a 2010 study from the Eliot Institute showed that 64% of post-abortive women felt pressured into the decision. Upon further research, I was shocked to find that this issue was far more prevalent than I had anticipated, and I came upon thousands- literally, thousands- of stories about women who had been forced or coerced. I would find them on blogs, post-abortive healing sites, and even in videos that young girls would post on YouTube about their abortion experiences. And as I read those stories, and watched the tears roll down the cheeks of those young girls, I could only think, "How did I not know about this before?" From what I discovered in my research, there are three main groups of people that play the largest roles in forced abortions: parents, boyfriends/husbands, and clinic counselors. Parental involvement is most common in the cases of minors, since most teens are still living at home. Parents may threaten to kick their daughters out or threaten abuse if they do not consent to the abortion. Especially in single parent households, these threats will hold a huge power over the pregnant teen, whose mother/father is her only means of support. Out of fear of homelessness or rejection, the young woman will be forced into an unwanted abortion. The majority of stories that I found on this issue involved coercion from the child's father. In fact, it's been discovered that abortion has been used as a tool to create an emotional connection between abusive boyfriends/husbands and their partners, therefore making it much harder for the woman to leave the unhealthy relationship. In other cases, the fathers will guilt trip the mothers into abortion because they are afraid of the responsibility a child will bring. Phrases like "how could you do this to me?" and "my life will be over if you have this baby", along with threats to leave the relationship, are enough to convince the woman that the relationship is more important than the life of their unborn child. Sadly, even though abortions may appear to be a way to "save" a relationship, the vast majority of relationships will end after the pregnancy is ended. Perhaps the most shocking participants in forced abortions are the counselors at the abortion clinics. I do believe that many of these counselors are sincere in their efforts, and really believe that they are doing something to help women. But some counselors will go above and beyond to ensure that abortion is the only outcome to the counseling session. One former abortion clinic manager actually stated that, "If a woman we were counseling expressed doubts about having an abortion, we would say whatever was necessary to persuade her to abort immediately." This is strongly proven by the abundance of stories about counselors who will use guilt, manipulation, and even outright lies to ensure the fate of the unborn child. They will try their best to convince the woman that she is unfit to care for the child, that it is the best decision for her, and that it will spare her loved ones the trouble. Instead of being empowered, these mothers are told that they are incompetent. Sometimes, the counselors will even side with overbearing boyfriends, creating a far stronger barricade against any help that a woman might receive. Is there any hope for these women? From what you'be just read, it may seem like a difficult task to make any sort of difference in the realm of forced abortion. However, this is not the case! In one study of 252 post-abortive women who had suffered psychological symptoms, 83% of them stated that they would have continued the pregnancy if they had received support from just ONE person. I strongly believe this to be the case with victims of forced or coerced abortions, as well. If a woman truly doesn't want an abortion, help from a single individual can be the difference between life and death for her precious child. And guess what? You can be that person. It may mean reaching out in places that make you uncomfortable. It may mean going out of your way to search for the people who need help. It may even mean being ridiculed by your peers. But if you can be that one person for just one woman who needs you, it will make a world of difference for the tiny life inside of her.

Karli Olson is an Oregonian college student with a passion for the pro-life movement. She is a writer at heart, and strives to combine her love of words with her zest for the truth. As a Communications Major, she is hoping to learn more about how to communicate effectively with an audience and speak out about what she knows to be true.

Works Cited 1.VM Rue et. al. "Induced abortions and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women," Medical Science Monitor 10(10):SR5-16 (2004). Information collected February 25, 2016 from [http://theunchoice.com/intro.htm] 2. Dwoskin, Elizabeth. "A Twisted Form of Domestic Abuse." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 8 Oct. 2010. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/>. 3. Terzo, Sarah. "Quotes from Abortion Clinic Workers and Doctors: Abortion Counseling and Marketing". Eternal Perspective Ministries (March 2, 2010). Information collected March 1, 2016 from [http://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Mar/2/Abortion-Counseling-and-Marketing/] 4. Zimmerman, Passage Through Abortion (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1977). Information collected March 2, 2016 from [http://www.abortionfacts.com/reardon/women-at-risk-of-post-abortion-trauma#7] Photo from telegaph.co.uk