Coerced Abortion Awareness Week

Graphic via UnChoice

April 12-19 is coerced abortion awareness week. At Secular Pro-Life, we recognize the harm that coerced abortion causes both to women and their preborn children.

Coerced abortion can take many forms. Perhaps the best known is state-sponsored coerced abortion in China. Organizations working to end this human rights atrocity include Women’s Rights Without Frontiers and All Girls Allowed.

But coerced abortion is by no means limited to tyrannical regimes. It happens here too, as a matter between individuals. An abusive partner may use physical violence to force a pregnant mother to have an abortion. The coercion can also be emotional or financial, as with a partner who threatens to end the relationship or withdraw needed support unless she has an abortion. For more information and to read women’s stories, visit UnChoice.

Tragically, we sometimes see that pregnant teens face coercion from their parents to abort an “unwanted” grandchild. The pro-life legal team at the Center Against Forced Abortion provides a free defense to teens in this situation. As a first step, you can download template letters, to the parents and to the abortion business, which set forth the teen’s rights and threaten a lawsuit if the abortion goes forward.

Finally, for even more resources, follow our friends at Feminists for Nonviolent Choices; they’ll be releasing information and graphics about coerced abortion throughout the week.