Coerced or Forced Abortions in America

 

"Over half of abortions in America are unwanted or coerced. Learn more."

http://www.theunchoice.com/coerced.htm

"Contrary to popular belief, a growing body of evidence indicates that most abortions in America involve coercion. Those in positions of power, authority or influence may apply pressure, blackmail, deceptive or negligent information, threats or even violence -- or all of the above -- to coerce or even force an unwanted abortion."

"Research shows that most women don't want abortion. Coercion often exploits or endangers women who want to have their babies, or works against individuals and families seeking answers, guidance and personal or practical help, yet not told of alternatives ... or falsely told that no practical or personal support or resources are available."

 

"Coercion may involve an abusive partner, family or authority figure; negligent or coercive professionals in the helping professions or elsewhere; a passive, coercive or even violent support network; deceptive, agenda- or profit-driven experts presenting false information as fact, etc.

 

These things often happen when women, couples or families are seeking answers -- such as a pregnancy test -- guidance or a helping hand, often from trusted authorities or other professionals.

 

Employers and others have threatened or inflicted physical harm, loss of job or financial support, abandonment, or even death when women resisted an unwanted abortion.'"

How Common Is Coercion?

http://www.theunchoice.com/articles/howcommoniscoercion.htm 

"In America and elsewhere, pressure or even forced abortion, deceptive

or negligent counseling, and direct or indirect forms of blackmail,

assembly-line or profit-driven clinics, substandard medical practices and

other factors work in concert to funnel women toward unwanted abortions.

Coercion can escalate to violence or homicide, the leading killer of pregnant women."

Death penalty - a letter to the Democratic party

Last night was reportedly the first case of a federal execution in any years.  However, supported by the Democratic party, federally funded executions are occurring by the thousands every day in abortion clinics. Human life begins at conception, biology 101.  Since Roe v. Wade, there have been 62+ million executions of unborn human individuals in the United States, all under the guise of health care. I am using the word execution as abortion is the willful termination of the life of a unique human individual.

Once upon a time, the Democratic party did not think that abortion was so wonderful. Remember legal, safe and RARE? Now, the DNC platform only wants to keep abortion legal.  States, that try to enact regulations that require abortions clinics to maintain conditions required of other medical facilities, such as dental offices and outpatient surgical centers, are bombarded by so-called choice supporters with objections that women’s right to abortion are being denied.  But, it costs money to maintain sanitary conditions or design a clinic so that EMT’s can safely and quickly transport a woman who has had a complication to an ER.  Listen to the objections and follow the money.

So, money trumps safe. What about rare?  Despite the denials of choice supporters, many women say that they did not think that they had a choice other than an abortion. Where is the Democratic party’s concern for these women? Women say that they felt pressured by others, by their economic status, by their healthcare status, by the numbers in the family that they were already caring for, by the choice between a baby, and getting and education that would support them both.  But these women can choose abortion with no regrets, according to the so-called choice supporters. No regrets?  Many years ago, I read of a woman in her 70’s who found that the underlying sadness in her life was the result of an abortion.  Another woman felt that she was unable to love her living children since she had ended the life of her first child. Regret, depression and family problems have arisen from abortions.  Post-abortive programs would not exist if women did not regret having abortions.

Women are given options at the abortion clinics. Just how true is that?  Women, who were once abortion clinic counselors, have related how they had a script which skewed the options toward abortions, like putting the cost of raising a child versus the cost of an abortion.  How many clinics offer guidance to social programs that would enable women to raise her baby?  Oh, that would require a social worker.  Abortion clinics are not into social work.  Adoption is mentioned, but so also the life-long grief of giving the baby to another person. What of the grief of an abortion? Oh, women are supposed to feel relief. Feeling grief from an abortion means someone shamed them into feeling grief.  Supposedly pro-choice supporters rail against pro-life clinics that offer information on fetal developments and ultrasounds of the baby. They say that it shames women into not choosing an abortion. Since when is having all the information one can have before undergoing a life-changing procedure be shameful? Would they say the same if a woman was undergoing surgery for breast cancer? How many women have said that if they only knew they were not aborting “just a clump of cells” they would never have had the abortion? 

What is the Democratic party, the party that is portraying itself as caring for the people, going to do for the women who do not want an abortion but think that because of their life circumstances they do not have any choice?  Will the Democratic party push for the regulation of abortion clinics that will at least compare to standards of other clinics or even hair salons?  Will the Democratic party promote more programs for women, and men, who want to care for their babies? (There are men who are willing to raise their baby on their own, but then the women would be unwilling incubators, according to the supposedly pro-choice people. How ‘it’s all about me’ have we become to put one’s convenience over the life of another?)  Will the Democratic party promote adoption and fund adoption agencies as much as it funds abortion clinics, under the guise of health care? (This would include religious organizations with acceptance of their adoption parameters, if the woman chooses them.) 

Or, will the Democratic party buckle to the so-called pro-choice people?  They say that they are for ‘my body, my choice’, but their actions say that is a lie.  Every baby kept or adopted is a loss for an abortion clinic’s profits, or excess revenue over expenses if Planned Parenthood.  Hear the objections and follow the money.  Is the Democratic party really for the welfare of the people or a slave to the abortion lobby and a minority of people, just as the Republican party is to the NRA?

Time to put your policies where your mouth is.  Give women real choices.  That will make abortion rare. 

Want some ideas?  Democrats for Life have ideas. https://www.democratsforlife.org/

Proposed Platform Language to Unites Democrats Around Historic Democratic Principles

"We respect the conscience of each American and recognize that members of our party have deeply held and sometimes differing positions on issues of personal conscience, such as abortion and the death penalty.  We recognize the diversity of views as a source of strength, and we welcome into our ranks all Americans who may hold differing positions on these and other issues.

However, we can find common ground.  We believe that we can reduce the number of abortions because we are united in our support for policies that assist families who find themselves in crisis or unplanned pregnancies.  We believe that women deserve to have a breadth of options available as they face pregnancy – including, among others, support and resources needed to handle the challenges of pregnancy, adoption, and parenthood; access to education, healthcare, and childcare; and appropriate child support.  We envision a new day without financial or societal barriers to bringing a planned or unplanned pregnancy to term."

Report: Coerced Abortion by Feminists for Nonviolent Choices

From:  Introduction

Report: Coerced Abortion

http://www.ffnvc.org/#!reports/cv2u

"In my heart, I was like…‘I can’t lie there and have them kill my baby. I can’t do it.’ And I called [my boyfriend] and I told him, and with choice words he said, ‘No, you’re going to do this. You don’t have a choice. This is what’s going to happen.’ He drove me to the abortion clinic."

–Ashley1
The situation Ashley faced is more common than many people realize. Although 64% of women presenting for post-abortive treatment report feeling coercion to abort2, the topic remains under-researched. This report examines the prevalence of coerced abortion and the situations that contribute to its existence, as well as examining what legal measures are in place to protect women from coercion and/or abuse.

Feminists for Nonviolent Choices is a pro-life, pro-woman organization that seeks to open minds to its philosophy of pro-life feminism: the belief that all people, by virtue of their human dignity, have a right to live without violence from conception to natural death. Coercing women to abort through violence, the threat of violence, or exercising other forms of control over women to coerce them to abort is a clear violation of a woman’s right to live free from compulsion or fear.

http://www.ffnvc.org/#!reports/cv2u

My teenage daughter is a pro-life activist but doesn’t know I have had an abortion: One woman’s journey to confessing her abortion to her children.

By bryankemper |

Published: July 8, 2014 on:

 http://www.standtrue.com/abortionconfession/#sthash.cvmlodUG.dpuf

On January 24, 2013, my daughter Zoe addressed the crowd at the March for Life Youth Rally in DC. Bryan Kemper of Stand True Pro-Life Outreach had been mentoring her for several months and she was already set on the path of a pro-life activist. She aimed to encourage young people to stand up and join her in the fight against abortion. When she said, “because what if my mother had had an abortion?,” Bryan looked at me with a look that said, “You need to tell her NOW.”

Ten months later, decompressing after an event in Lapeer, Michigan, I found myself having what had come to be a very familiar conversation. Bryan would ask me to speak at an event, I would say yes, and he would ask me to consider telling my children about my abortion. There was a point where I began to feel more bold, thinking that I was on the verge of finding the perfect moment, but that point had passed. My husband and I had already decided that we weren’t ready for that discussion.

“Would you consider speaking at the March for Life alongside Alveda King?” Bryan asked. “Of course; I’d love to,” was my typical response. “Are you gonna tell your kids before January?”

Nope. I was able to declare that without a doubt I absolutely would not have the courage to tell my babies that I’d aborted my first child, and I especially would not find that courage within the next two months. What are you, crazy? Just, no.

“I can’t ask you to speak again until you’ve told your kids. It’s Silent No More’s policy.”

I get it. I know exactly why that policy is in place. And I will take a hiatus from speaking publicly. Period. And without question.
Or not.

My children have always been willing to participate in pro-life activism with me. Children see the issue in the clearest and simplest terms. Abortion is killing a child. Killing a child is wrong. For years I have stood on the sidewalk pleading to mothers and fathers to reconsider their choice. Once, when he was about four, Jackson yelled, “DON’T GO TO ABORTION!” In 2012, Zoe made headlines in the pro-life news for standing up to some pro-abortion protestors at the DNC. They are staunchly and steadfastly PRO-LIFE. I could not be more proud.

But I was ashamed.

They didn’t know that their own mother had once been on the other side of the sidewalk. And how could I tell them? What would they think of me? What woman can tell her children that abortion is murder and murder is wrong but not in my case, because I was pro-choice then and I was young and I didn’t know what to do… So I chose to end the life of your oldest brother out of mere convenience.

I knew that I had support. I had some pretty amazing people praying for me. Bryan would send a text message, “Here I am with Kevin Burke (founder of Rachel’s Vineyard) and we are praying that you find the words to tell your children.” “Father Pavone and I are praying for you to have the talk with your kids.” “Georgette (co-founder of Silent No More) and I are praying about what we discussed before.” After a while I would roll my eyes, and then smile in thanks that I had these warriors praying for me.

Finally, I asked my Priest if he thought I should at least have the talk with Zoe, my oldest. He said, “I would be 100% surprised if she had no idea. She has to know.” I told him, “Uh, she’s almost 13 and I just told her about Santa. She cried herself to sleep and didn’t talk to me for two days.” But he encouraged me to pray about it and consider telling her about my past. When I woke up the next morning, I was certain that before I went to sleep that night, I would have unloaded this horrible secret to my daughter.

On Wednesday, January 8, nearly a year after Zoe spoke at the Stand True event, we arrived at the Cathedral to drop my younger three at Faith Formation and I told Zoe that we needed to talk. She almost began to cry as she panicked and asked, “Are we going to talk about puberty? Because I do NOT want to talk about PUBERTY!” I couldn’t help but laugh as I told her to hush and sit down.

Tissue in hand, I recounted the memory of my abortion to my firstborn. I was bawling. Zoe was stone-faced. Assuming that we would hug and cry together for the entire 90 minutes that her siblings were in class, I was kind of surprised to find myself spent after about ten minutes. “Do you have any questions?” “No.” “Are you OK?” “Yes.” “Do you forgive me?” “Yes. I’d like to speak with Father Rossi.” And with that, we called Father Rossi. He suggested that we might find comfort in spending time with Our Lord, and we headed into Adoration. Side by side, on our knees, I thanked Jesus profoundly and repeatedly for this young woman, and for her understanding and her compassion and for His grace and His mercy and His love. As I settled in to the pew, I watched in awe as Zoe stared at Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and continued to pray. She prayed and prayed and prayed. Months later, after only a question or two had been asked about my experience, Zoe came to me and said, “Adoration is what helped me when you told me about your abortion.” As we left Adoration that evening, we agreed that her siblings (Lily, 11, Bella, 9 and Jackson, 7) were not ready for the news.

As I so often do, I rushed home to share my experience on Facebook. I attached a link to my testimony, which had been published a year and a half earlier. Sitting in front of my laptop, I had no idea that Jackson was behind me until he asked, “Is that a picture of you? Why are you holding a sign that says, ‘I REGRET MY ABORTION’? Did you have an abortion?”
I panicked. In that moment, I silently prayed, “Lord, please guide me. I will no longer hide this from my children. Help.” And I said, “Yes. I did have an abortion.” And I held my breath.

Jackson continued, “Wait. Did you have to get a SHOT?” What? “Yes, Buddy, I did.” Returning to his homework, he said, “How do you spell ‘Guido’?”  I was a little bit stunned. “G. U. I. D. O.” He dropped his pencil and said, “I’m finished with my homework!” And he ran upstairs to take a shower.

I laughed to myself and thanked God that was over. I was only mildly surprised to find out later that of course it WAS NOT OVER. As Lily and Bella hovered around me waiting to be tucked in for the night, Jackson declared, “Did you know Mama had an abortion?!” Lily looked at me when she addressed him and said, “No she didn’t. She only got her tubes tied. Wait. Did you have an abortion?” And this is when the severity of the situation set in for Jackson. Immediately crying, he ran upstairs to his room. I pulled up the website with my testimony and told Lily and Bella to read it together, and come upstairs to ask me any questions they might have.


As I approached Jackson’s bedroom door, I heard Zoe comforting him. Out of their sight, I listened as she said, “Don’t be upset, Buddy. Everyone makes mistakes but we can learn from them. Mama has been to Confession and she is sorry for what she did but she’s making it right through the work she does now.” I was absolutely stunned. Again I thanked Jesus for this amazing young woman, and I walked into Jackson’s room. He didn’t hesitate to throw his arms around my neck. Lily and Bella joined us and I asked if they had any questions. We talked about David James and asked him to pray for us and for all women considering abortion. We cried. We laughed. We prayed. We hugged.

I let out a huge sigh and asked if everyone was OK. My lovely children beamed at me and Jackson said, “Mama, if you have any more secrets, can you please keep them to yourself? I don’t like it when you cry.” I promised him that I don’t have ANY MORE secrets. I was free. Silent no more.

Brice Griffin

- See more at: http://www.standtrue.com/abortionconfession/#sthash.cvmlodUG.dpuf

Abortion Clinic Worker Quits, by Abby Johnson

Abortion Clinic Worker Quits: “No Two Week Notice,” “I’ll Never Set Foot in There Again”

by Abby Johnson | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 10/15/13 4:58 PM
                                   

We got this message from woman who is now part of our ministry: “I quit this morning. Effective immediately…no two week stuff. I’m done. Never to step foot in there again.”

 

You have helped us make this happen.  In fact, 84 workers have come through our ministry, thanks to all of you and your support!  Below are some of the updates from our ministry!

A Fresh Start

Recently on Facebook, I shared about a clinic worker who left her job after becoming a Christian. She was homeless for over a week. She found out about ATTWN and immediately contacted us. Her story was so courageous. She had a very intimate moment with Christ one evening and decided to give her life to Him. When she walked into work the next day, she knew that helping to facilitate the deaths of the unborn was NOT part of God’s plan. She walked out that day with nothing. She left behind her paycheck, picked up her children and tried to start a new life. But after the money she had ran out, she found herself jobless, penniless and homeless…with her two daughters.

With the help of ATTWN and your prayers, she is now in a safe apartment, her children are enrolled in school and she has an AWESOME, life affirming job!!

Just another story to remind us that God is ALWAYS faithful!

Healing Retreat

In September, a group of women came together for an ATTWN former abortion clinic worker healing retreat.  They were of different religions and different life backgrounds; some left the industry recently and some left several years ago.  What they all had in common, though, is they all took a huge leap in a journey towards healing from their time in the industry.

None of them started out in the industry wanting anything to do with abortions.  They started out as receptionists or working as a translator, so they felt more at ease justifying their jobs.  However, it didn’t take long for Planned Parenthood and the abortion clinics to pull them back into the operation rooms to assist in abortions.  ”Sandra” began her work in the abortion industry as a translator, but eventually, she was “there holding the instruments as the baby came out, alive.”  Sandra continued, “The largest I saw done illegally was 28 weeks.  They were supposed to go up to 25 weeks… the doctor would fudge the numbers on her chart.”  The recollection of those particular abortions brought on tears.

“Ellen” recalled her time working at Planned Parenthood.  Like many others, she felt uncomfortable with her job there, but it paid the bills and offered the benefits she needed.  She was hired on as a patient educator and was reprimanded for quietly giving patients information on adoption services and resource centers in the counseling rooms, because she was not pushing the sale of abortion onto women who weren’t sure what they were going to do. ”It took a huge physical toll,” Ellen said. “I would always come home from work and cry.”

Opening up about the activities that they partook in at the abortion clinics were very difficult on the retreat attendees.  Flashbacks, nightmares, and visions of aborted babies and baby parts are common among former clinic workers. “Christa” worked at Planned Parenthood in the back rooms where clean-up after abortion procedures took place.  ”I’m guilty of counting body parts and freezing the, only for them later to be burned,” she said.

“Rebecca” worked as a receptionist in an abortion clinic for years.  She had been reassured she would have nothing to do with abortion when she began working there.  She recalled the especially difficult cases of women who would call to schedule abortions into their third trimesters.  She started to cry when she admitted “I didn’t do abortions, but I was the accomplice.  I scheduled them.  I took the money.”

This was the first real step to healing that most of the women on the retreat had taken.  One of the biggest obstacles a converted clinic worker has is the feeling of isolation and believing that there is no one else like them.  These retreats that ATTWN hosts throughout the year work to break down that obstacle and allow former clinic workers to open up to each other; to open up to others who have been in their exact situations and know what they are feeling.

Without your financial contributions, we wouldn’t have been able to put on this healing retreat.  Thank you to our supporters who donated and sponsored a former clinic worker to go on this retreat.  Your prayers and your generosity make it possible for us to put people on a path to healing.

And Then There Were None - ATTWN - http://www.attwn.org/