|
 The UnLetter: Resource Update
News from The UnChoice campaign -- an evidence-based education and outreach project from the Elliot Institute to raise awareness about unwanted abortions and post-abortion issues. From coercion to aftereffects, abortion is an assault on the fundamental rights and lives of both the unborn and women. Learn more at:
TheUnChoice.com
"We've not been asked to tell our side of the story."
--Kathleen DeZeeuw, Rape Survivor, Mother
New Evidence About "Hard Cases"
Answers that respect authentic women's rights, plus evidence that
abortion was never about real "choice" for women or their children.
 During political campaigns and other public discussions, the so-called "hard cases" are often in the news and among the talking points of political candidates, policymakers and pundits.
As people discuss these abortion-related issues and the temptation to make exceptions, we'd like to once again remind you of our research, education and outreach materials addressing these issues.
It often surprises many -- even some in pro-life circles -- that the evidence defies conventional wisdom and the deceptively named "pro-choice" rhetoric about abortion ... even in the so-called "hard cases" of assault-related pregnancies.
Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault
 If you've read Victims and Victors by Elliot Institute Director David Reardon, you already know the truth. Surveys of women who've been there indicate that most don't want abortion.
Those who had abortions in such situations reported that it only increased their trauma. Women have said the abortion was like "being assaulted again." Those who didn't abort said they had no regrets about giving birth.
In many cases, women are pressured into abortion by the very people whose support they seek. Often, these friends or family will withhold moral, personal or practical support and, ironically, insist that abortion is her "only" option.
We Asked Women Who've Been There
Evidence shows that assault victims are often further harmed by being coerced into and further traumatized by abortion. As explored in Victims and Victors, a survey of women who became pregnant as a result of sexual assault found that:
- 70% had their babies. Of those who continued the pregnancy, none regretted having given or said they wished they had aborted instead.
- 78% said they felt that abortion was not a good solution for them and that it only intensified their trauma.
Many only aborted because they felt pressured by others to do so. In many cases, where the victims were young, it was usually someone else, not the victim, who chose the abortion. In a number of cases, abortion was used by the perpetrator to cover up the crime and even to allow the abuse to continue.
In one particularly disturbing case outlined in a separate report, a Baltimore man used up to 10 abortions to hide his chronic sexual abuses. (See similar examples in the Elliot Institute's Forced Abortion in America report.)
Use our resources, linked below, to tell Americans about evidence that abortion -- even in the "hard cases -- is not about "choice" or helping women and their children. It is adding trauma to trauma and leaving women alone in abortion's heartbreaking aftermath. (See Help & Healing page.)
Learn and Share. Download Elliot Institute Resources Regarding "Hard Cases."
We enc ourage you to use our research, education and outreach materials to help educate others.
Distribute materials in print, as handouts or online. Incorporate excerpts into one-on-one or group talks. Forward them or post links on social media or via emails to family, friends and group leaders.
Write letters to the editor sharing this new-to-most information. When you have an opportunity, challenge your friends, family and political, pastoral or other leaders with new evidence that abortion -- including already-challenging situations such as assault -- only makes matters worse.
Those Who Make Exceptions Forgot to Ask Women Who've Been There
Ironically, many leaders who make exceptions in the name of "choice," forgot to ask women who've been there as they presume to know what's best for women. Share this evidence and change the debate to an authentically pro-woman/pro-life message.
Due to the urgency and potential of this message, we invite you to use our evidence-based resources free of charge. However, if you are able to make a donation, however small, it will support and speed this outreach.
God bless you for your compassion and partnership in this work!
news * books * donate * Twitter * Facebook
GoodSearch.com * GoodShop.com * bumper stickers, apparel, signs, etc.
unwanted abortions * unsafe * suicide risk * teens
help & healing * AfterAbortion.org * Church Awareness Project
Center Against Forced Abortions * AbortionRisks.org
|
