The volunteers that were keeping vigil on the sidewalk of the clinic were extremely shocked to see a school bus, during school hours, bring a child to the abortion clinic.

The Elliot Institute and others have noted cases of youth being coerced by school counselors and others in authority, often while their parents are kept in the dark by school officials.

In the book Aborted Women, Silent No More, by Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, a young women said she had been mocked by a school counselor and taken by school  bus for an abortion. She reported that the counselor told her, "One day you'll look back on this and laugh."

She also reported that a weekly bus took students to the clinic. "It was all so organized," she said. Others have also reported being silenced by school, health and even pastoral authorities when they resisted or "asked too many questions." (See Portraits of Coercion, Forced Abortion in America, Teen Coercion, and related links at the end of this article.)

The letter below, written by someone on the front lines at abortion clinics and pregnancy help centers, expresses similar experiences:

Letter to the Editor re: School Coercion and Parents Kept in the Dark

"Parents, do you know where your daughters are during school hours?"

Reports of school buses delivering students to abortion clinics have come from students and adult observers. In New Jersey, volunteers praying outside of the Cherry Hill Women's Center reported seeing a school bus arrive at the front of the abortion clinic. A young girl and an adult woman, who witnesses believed may have been a teacher or guidance counselor, stepped out of the bus.

In a letter published in the Burlington County Times, Vivian Morris, one of the volunteers that day, estimated that the young girl appeared to be between 12 and 16 years old. Morris said the girl was escorted into the abortion clinic. 

Morris and other volunteers were participating in 40 Days for Life -- a national campaign to pray and fast for 40 days to end abortion. Hundreds of cities across the nation have participated in this campaign. Volunteers take turns keeping vigil, praying and handing out abortion alternatives, and offering support to women facing crisis pregnancies. In her letter to the Burlington County Times, Morris mentions one such mother, a 20-year-old pregnant woman. She and the baby's father wanted to keep their baby, but needed help and support. The volunteers helped them find the support they sought.

According to Morris, when the school bus pulled up, the volunteers keeping vigil on the sidewalk "were extremely shocked to see a school bus, during school hours, brings a child to the abortion clinic."

Especially in states that do not have parental notification laws, children have been taken to the clinic from school without the knowledge or permission of the parents. Ironically, laws to protect the rights of mothers, whether it's coerced abortion or parental notification laws, have been opposed by self-described "pro-choice" legislators. This is especially true in light of significant evidence that most abortions involve coercion.

Parental notification laws and coercion laws that hold clinics accountable, would put the brakes on clinic-bound school buses taking underage girls to abortion clinics while parents are kept in the dark. As Morris asked in her letter to the editor, "Parents, do you know where your daughters are during school hours?"
 

Other Articles

Related Pages

Teens and Abortion -- Learn and share information, resources and project ideas.
Letters to the Editor Page -- Share new evidence, sample letters and tips on writing letters to the editor in print or online.

Other Resources

Who’s Making the Choice? Women's Heightened Vulnerability During a Crisis Pregnancy How and why women are manipulated into unwanted abortions.
A Generation at Risk: How Teens Are Manipulated Into Abortion At look at how and why teens are especially vulnerable to coercion.

The Many Faces of Coercion Startling examples of coerced abortion around the world.

Unwanted, coerced or forced abortions in America

Forced Abortion in America Report

Women Who Abort: Their Reflections on the Unborn
Wantedness and Coercion. Key Factors in Understanding Women's Mental Health After Abortion. by Martha Shuping, M.D.