Forced Abortions in America: The Hidden Epidemic

Springfield, IL (July 12, 2004) — The epidemic of coerced, unwanted abortions is rarely reported. Yet every week, thousands of girls and women face threats and abuse from people who want them to abort without regard for their own feelings or desires.

A homeless woman was denied shelter until she submitted to an unwanted abortion . . . a teen was ridiculed by a school counselor and bussed to the abortion clinic . . . a daughter was pushed into an abortion clinic at gunpoint by her mother . . . a girlfriend was injected with an abortifacient outside a parking garage . . . a 13-year-old was returned to her molester after her abortion . . . three sisters were raped repeatedly by their father and forced into abortions for nearly a decade . . . a wife miscarried after her husband jumped on her stomach to force an abortion . . . a waitress was fired after refusing to have an abortion.

The headlines above represent just a few of the many women who were offered only one choice–abortion. They are just a few of the hundreds of appalling stories of abuse, violence and manipulation that are found in the Elliot Institute’s 21-page special report, “Forced Abortion in America.”

“Forced Abortion in America” is part of a larger series of materials examining ways in which legalized abortion has exposed women to unwanted, unnecessary, and dangerous abortions. It includes citations to research showing that 30 to 60 percent of women having abortions feel pressured to do so by other persons.

Release of the report coincides with the launch of a petition drive by a coalition of national post-abortion ministries asking both the Republican and Democratic national committees to adopt language in their national platforms condemning coerced abortions.

The free special report includes numerous examples of girls forced to undergo unwanted abortions by parents, sexual molesters, school officials, employers, and others. The report also examines how pregnant women who refuse to abort face increasing levels of abuse and violence intended to intimidate or cause miscarriage. This violence against pregnant women has escalated to the point that the leading cause of death among pregnant women today is homicide. Dozens of cases of women who have been shot, stabbed, choked, burned, or bombed for refusing to abort are also included in the report.

“Forced Abortions in America” can be downloaded from www.afterabortion.org/petition.

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Learn More:
Modern Day Slavery of Human Trafficking
Forced Abortion in America Special Report
Concealing Sex Trafficking: Failure to Report Sex Crimes May Also Hide Human Trafficking
Empower Women, Not the State
Prevention of Coerced and Unsafe Abortion Act

Get Help:
Center Against Forced Abortions (legal help)
Find Help for Trafficking Victims
How to Identify Trafficking Victims
Help During Pregnancy
Help After Abortion