An article here about Rod Bruinooge’s new bill to ban coercing someone to have an abortion.
So does this happen in Canada? Certainly not to the extent that women are being murdered, right, left and centre, no, as was the case for Roxanne after whom MP Rod Bruinooge is naming his bill.
I’m way more concerned about the subtle form of coercion or influence that happens in just your average abortion. Women are very susceptible to just even the smallest expression (or lack of expression) of their partners and family, I think.
And the burden of proof does not lie in proving that no one is coerced into keeping the baby, not in a culture where there are 100,000 plus abortions annually.
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While I am concerned with women and young girls being coerced into abortion, in all of its forms. I think I am more afraid of the secret abortions, when young women don’t tell any family members or the father (because of fear or otherwise). In my opinion, the coercion in these abortions lies with the state. I found this recent article exposing just how uninvolved parents and loved ones can be in the process. http://www.komonews.com/news/local/88971742.html
I was also recently asked to help find resources for a 17 year old girl who is pregnant. When I contacted the guidance counsellor at the high school near my home (whom I thought might have some information for me on support groups etc.), she told me to have the girl contact the IWK (hospital) as this was an ‘ongoing problem’ in the school and no they did not have any support groups or resources there. Never once was it mentioned to advise her to tell her parents. My fear is the afraid young girls going through this process completely alone in hospital settings. That seems like coercion to me.
I’d be interested in seeing statistics on the number if abortions had by women who have consulted their families/partners vs those that haven’t.
THAT is precisely one of the types of quiet coercion I was trying to get at. The very presence of this “choice” is a coercion… (Better do this, because there’s nothing else.) And the state is very responsible for this. Thanks for this thought.
Yes, of course abortions are coerced in this country. Just talk to any Birthright volunteer. Every woman who seeks assistance from Birthright is doing so precisely because someone is trying to coerce her into having an abortion. Usually it is a boyfriend or a husband, but often it is her parents (especially if she is a minor). Sadly, only about half of those who seek assistance from Birthright are successful in resisting this coercion. The other half disappear from Birthright’s radar, and one can only assume that they cave in to the pressure and have an abortion.
And the results are devastating, and this article shows:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/post-abortive_women_suffer_from_symptoms_similar_to_war_veterans_says_pro-life_leader/
From this thread, it seems the definition of coercion is ‘anything that might make a woman disagree with my answer.’
Suricou: try working on the front lines in a crisis pregnancy centre, so you can see first-hand the devastation that “pro-choice” has wrought on women’s lives.