From the Leader in Post-Abortion Research
Vol. 7, No. 22 -- November 26, 2008
UnChoice Campaign: TheUnChoice.com
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Chinese Woman Released After Forced Abortion Threat Raises International Outcry
–But Obama Still Poised to Fund Population Control Groups Tied to China
A Chinese woman threatened with forced abortion has been released after an international outcry, but President-elect Obama appears poised to restore funding to groups working with Chinese officials.
News media reported that Arzigul Tursun, who was six months pregnant, had been released from a hospital where she was being held and that officials did not carry out a planned forced abortion on her. Her release came about after pro-life and human rights advocates– including members of the U.S. House of Representatives–pressured China to release her.
As we reported in a previous issue of The Elliot Institute News, pro-abortion groups are calling for Obama to restore funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The Bush administration ceased funding UNFPA after two investigations–including one conducted by then Secretary of State Colin Powell–found that forced abortions and sterilizations were being carried out in areas where UNFPA had "family planning" programs and that the group shared an office with officials who were forcing women into the procedures.
The Population Research Institute, which carried out an earlier investigation of UNFPA's activities in China, reported that Powell urged the Bush administration to stop funding UNFPA. Earlier this year, the government also stopped funding for international abortion promoter Marie Stopes International for it's ties to China.
Critics say that Obama will restore funding to UNFPA and is also poised to overturn the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits groups from using federal money to promote or perform abortion in other countries. In addition, Obama has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would make abortion a federal law and could sweep away restrictions that protect the rights of women and their unborn children, while exposing more women and teens to unwanted, coerced, forced and unsafe abortions.
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Forced and coerced abortions don't take place only in countries with restrictive population control programs. Pregnant women in the U.S. are frequently the victims of pressure, coercion–including disinformation from experts–threats, financial blackmail, and even violence in order to force them to abort. Women have endured injustices ranging from being threatened with job loss to being assaulted or killed for resisting abortion. For more information–and to find out what you can do to help–click here.
Jamaican Woman Shares Regret
Over Forcing Daughter's Abortion
A Jamacian woman has testified before members of her country's parliament about her pain and regret over pushing her daughter into an abortion 20 years ago.
Anne Arthur, now a grief counselor, testified during a debate over whether to legalize abortion in Jamaica. LifeSiteNews.com quoted her as saying that she "drove [her] daughter like a lamb to the slaughterhouse, against her will."
Arthur testified that, "I pressed my views on her and convinced her that she would be unable to care for the child while studying and an abortion would be the best thing to do, offering her no other solution or help …" She said that after the abortion, she knew she had "made the greatest mistake" of her life.
Arthur said her daughter is now married but has had trouble conceiving because of damage from the abortion, which was carried out legally in Germany. Arthur said she no longer supports abortion.
As reported above, many women and teens frequently face pressure, coercion or even force to get them to abort. And families and friends are often deceived into thinking that abortion is the only solution.
Legalization of abortion has made it easier for others to insist that a woman abort rather than giving her authentic support. And while some abortion advocates argue that legalizing abortion in countries like Jamaica will decrease the death rate from illegal and unsafe abortions, a pro-life doctor testified before parliament that illegal abortions make up a small part of the overall maternal death rate. Dr. Doreen Brady West testified that she believes that providing better health care for women during and after pregnancy, not abortion, is the solution.
Further, studies in the U.S. and Finland have found that women who abort face a 3.5 times higher death rate compared to women who give birth, while the suicide rate among women who had abortions was 6 times higher.
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For more research on abortion risks, including coercion and trauma, visit www.theunchoice.com/pblresearch.htm.
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