Domestic Violence and Abortion: Why Do Anti-Choicers Excuse Abuse?
Two thoughts went through my head when I read about a study showing that women seeking abortion experience high rates of domestic violence. The first thought was that this doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, both because abused women might have more unintended pregnancies and because pregnancy often is the catalyst for abusers escalating the amount of violence. And the second is that this really demonstrates how wrong anti-choicers are when they claim that forced childbirth is somehow pro-woman. To be truly pro-woman, you must give women tools to prevent abusers from strengthening their hold over their victims. Forcing an abuse victim to have a baby against her will by her abuser is doing the abuser’s work for him.
The findings of the study conducted by University of Iowa professors and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland is grim but unsurprising to those of us who know something about the parameters of violence against women. Fourteen percent of the women coming in for abortions over an eight-and-a-half month period had experienced domestic violence in the past 12 months. There’s reason to suspect that women in abusive relationships are more likely to experience unintended pregnancy. Sabotaging birth control is a common tactic of abusers seeking to increase their power over their victims and reduce their victims’ own sense of control. Preliminary studies have found that it may be that up to three-quarters of women in abusive relationships experience some form of contraception sabotage.
Once pregnant, women in abusive relationships are quite likely to be more motivated than average to terminate a pregnancy. Domestic abuse often escalates during pregnancy, probably because abusers feel an even stronger need to control their victims. They may also feel like they can get away with more abuse, because the child makes it that much harder for a woman to escape. In fact, homicide, usually at the hands of a male partner, is one of the leading causes of death for pregnant women. I’m not at all surprised that many women sense this danger, and this influences the decision to terminate.
More: Domestic Violence and Abortion: Why Do Anti-Choicers Excuse Abuse?
From a Post by the Facebook Group: Crisis Pregnancy Center, the Pro Life Trap
It has come to my attention that one of the big things that the Pro-Life movement is talking about, is how abortion promotes domestic violence. I’m not sure quite where they are coming from, but it is definitely something that needs to be brought to light.
Abortion does not by itself bring about domestic violence. One of the big things surrounding it, is the stigma of abortion. The act itself is not what brings about the violence, but the weight and anger put towards it. I’m going to link several articles below, citing both about the connection between abortion and domestic violence, as well as an article about forced abortion and domestic violence.
I hope this helps to enlighten some people.
~SeishoPS: If I am wrong, please by all means, show me where I am wrong, and provide articles and documentation to back it up. I welcome any information from the “other side”. Just please, no Lifesitenews, that website is about as worthwhile as Fox News.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1576/toag.11.3.163.27500/pdf
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2010/06/30/antichoicers-willing-look-other-while-women-abused/
http://www.dailyiowan.com/2010/06/23/Metro/17652.html
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1576/toag.11.3.163.27500/pdf
http://www.alternet.org/study-women-denied-abortions-more-likely-suffer-domestic-violence-and-be-public-assistance
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/05/20/when_a_man_forces_an_abortion_on_a_woman_he_s_committing_a_crime_against.html
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/08/21/718451/study-women-seeking-abortions-are-seven-times-more-likely-to-be-victims-of-abuse/#
(Video)
https://www.facebook.com/notes/democracy-now/utah-abortion-bill-could-punish-women-for-miscarriages-domestic-violence/339861391804http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/resources.html