An article on a popular men's web site that offered advice on how to pressure or coerce your wife or girlfriend into an unwanted abortion has been removed after receiving a flood of criticism from people on both sides of the abortion debate, according to The Elliot Institute News.
US-based Elliot Institute, billed as the ‘leader in post-abortion research’, released the astounding news in their July 28 eNews bulletin.
The web site article described a situation in which a woman become pregnant after she and her partner agreed not to have a baby. The author, Isabella Snow, wrote about things the man could say to persuade the woman to have an abortion, even if it was unwanted.
Especially disturbing was the advice that the man threaten to withdraw his support if the woman has the baby anyway, which is a form of coercion. “This was her decision, not yours, and the bulk of the responsibility is now hers," Snow wrote. "Take a moment to spell this out for her when she gives you her final decision; it just may sway her over to your side."
Elsewhere in the article she tells men to back up their position by laying out the reasons they can't have a baby, asking questions about how they will afford the child or who will take care of the baby. According to the Elliot Institute, women and girls report that this is a technique often used at abortion businesses in the US to make them feel that they can't have the baby and that abortion is their only option.
Many readers expressed anger, disappointment and dismay at the author for endorsing and even encouraging coercive actions that can lead to unwanted abortions. Posts from male readers of the site express frustration and a sense of loss from abortion of their unborn children, indicating that abortion can hurt men as well as women.
There is strong evidence that many abortions are, in fact, unwanted or coerced.
A survey of American and Russian women who had abortions found that more than half of American respondents reported feeling rushed or uncertain about the abortion and 64 percent reported feeling pressured to abort by others. Given the similarities between Australian and US culture, coercion may be just as prevalent in Australia.
Download the Elliot Institute’s special report Forced Abortion in America and find more information and resources here.
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