Coerced Abortion

Hand holding a generic abortion pill pack containing 1 mifepristone and 4 misoprostol, Author plancpillsdotorg (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)

WARNING:  Graphic Images

Catherine Herring of Texas was unknowingly given the abortion pill seven times by her husband, in his attempt to kill their unborn child [1A][2A].  Thankfully, the baby girl, Josephine, survived.  Tragically, this was not an isolated incident.

Coercion

Forced abortions are employed by men seeking to evade the responsibility of having fathered a child, by parents seeking to avoid social stigma, by child abusers seeking to hide their crimes, and by sex traffickers seeking to eliminate the inconvenience of a pregnancy among their victims [2B].

“Abortion clinics cannot claim to be pro-woman while at the same time allowing the majority of their clients to be pressured into unwanted abortions [5B].”

-David Reardon, PhD

A 2023 peer reviewed study published in the Cureus Journal of Medicine found that nearly 70% of abortions in the United States were unwanted, coerced, and/or inconsistent with the mother’s values [2C][3][4].

That confirms earlier research which indicated over 60% of women who had abortions faced high levels of external pressure to end their pregnancies [5A].

Aftermath

These women afterwards experienced negative emotions, including feelings of loss, grief, and/or sadness about the abortion [5C].  Intrusive thoughts, including flashbacks to the abortion, interfered with their daily lives, work, and relationships [5D].

These findings run counter to the Turnaway Study which had reported a 99% post-abortion satisfaction rate by women, but had a low participation rate and relied on a single query [5E].  It, also, runs counter to the pro-abortion rallying cry “My Body, My Choice”.

Teleheath

The advent of telehealth and the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mail-order abortion pills like mifepristone and misoprostol have facilitated coerced abortions.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the demand for abortion pills has actually increased [6].  199 Abortion Telemedicine https://abortiontelemedicine.com/ is one of many sites which now ship abortion pills around the country.

Sex traffickers and others can easily order these drugs online, irregardless of the FDA requirement of a signed authorization from the intended patient [7A]. Once pills have been mailed, there is no way of knowing who will ultimately take them.

Moreover, women who are forced into abortions without face-to-face contact with a physician are denied the opportunity to report in a safe setting the domestic abuse with which these pills are often associated.

Pollution

It bears mention that our water treatment systems are not equipped to deal with the 30-40 tons of fetal parts and hazardous chemicals annually flushed down the toilet into our water supply after use of the abortion pill, rather than disposed of as medical waste [12].

Politics

Sadly, this urgent issue has been politicized.  The legacy media tend to suggest that coerced abortion is a figment of the Republican Party’s imagination [7B].  Some states though are taking action.

Louisiana has categorized mifepristone and misoprostol as “controlled dangerous substances”, imposing a fine and prison sentence of up to 20 years for anyone fraudulently or forcibly inducing a pregnant woman to take an abortion pill [1B].

The FDA successfully defended a suit by Democratic attorneys general seeking to increase access to mifepristone which they argued was a safe drug [10][11].

Meanwhile, several Republican states including Louisiana filed suit seeking to curb access to mifepristone [8][9].  As a result, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the FDA to re-impose in-person dispensing requirements.  The US Supreme Court then issued a temporary stay until May 11, 2026 when it is expected to issue a ruling on the matter [12].

Domestic violence awareness groups have, also, become involved.

The outcome of all this has yet to be determined.  But the lives of women and children are at stake.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart...” (Jer. 1: 5).

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[1A and 1B]  National Catholic Register, “The Dark Side of Deregulation:  Coerced Abortion Incidents on the Rise” by Catalina Scheider Galinanes, 7/8/24, https://www.ncregister.com/news/fda-abortion-deregulation-forced-coercion.

[2A, 2B, and 3C]  Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), “Abortion isn’t always about choice:  the undeniable reality of coerced abortion”, October-December 2025, https://www.mccl.org/post/abortion-isn-t-always-about-choice-the-undeniable-reality-of-coerced-abortion.

[3]  Cureus Journal of Medical Science, “The Effects of Abortion Decision Rightness and Decision Type on Women’s Satisfaction and Mental Health” by David Reardon, Katherine Rafferty, and Tessa Longbons, 5/11/23, https://www.cureus.com/articles/146123-the-effects-of-abortion-decision-rightness-and-decision-type-on-womens-satisfaction-and-mental-health#!/.

[4]  Lozier Institute, “Hidden Epidemic:  Nearly 70% of Abortions Are Coerced, Unwanted or Inconsistent with Women’s Preferences” by David Reardon, Katherine Rafferty, and Tessa Cox, 5/15/23, https://lozierinstitute.org/hidden-epidemic-nearly-70-of-abortions-are-coerced-unwanted-or-inconsistent-with-womens-preferences/.

[5A through 5E]  Lozier Institute, “Whose Choice?  Pressure to Abort Linked to Worsening of Subsequent Mental Health” by David Reardon PhD, and Tessa Cox, 2/7/23, https://lozierinstitute.org/whose-choice-pressure-to-abort-linked-to-worsening-of-subsequent-mental-health/.

[6]  NBC Washington, “Clinics Report Spike in Demand for Abortion Pills by Patients” by Aimee Cho, 5/4/22, https://www.nbcwashington.com/video/news/local/clinics-report-spike-in-demand-for-abortion-pills/3043087/.

[7A and 7B]  National Right to Life, “Coerced abortion is much more widespread than we think” by Dave Andrusko, 4/16/24, https://nrlc.org/nrlnewstoday/2024/04/the-reality-of-coerced-abortion-is-much-more-widespread-that-we-think/.

[8]  Yahoo! News, “Abortion pill lawsuit…”, https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/abortion-pill-lawsuit-draws-briefs-230526130.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMKX_RBPPz08VUP8RVueu-vujUMljCsjhDgcMWmRhDb6gCRmhegFTmZrkLeCPZDtJ3ngyJ4GBEl3pfU8vZp1H64bgGMwTpla7toApxleTC1GNkSBpIW7-WStuo8Wz2eR7GgL-XoGGddao62kPHARW6tWWWr4Jdrt4P_KurUU2h_7.

[9]  Reuters, “US abortion pill access under fire:  Lawsuits and regulatory battles to watch in 2026” by Daniel Wiessner, 1/5/26, https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-abortion-pill-access-under-fire-lawsuits-regulatory-battles-watch-2026-2026-01-05/.

[10]  The Hill, “Democratic attorneys general sue FDA over ‘burdensome’ restrictions on abortion pills” by Joseph Choi, 2/24/23, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3873154-democratic-attorneys-general-sue-fda-over-burdensome-restrictions-on-abortion-pills/.

[11]  Bloomberg Law, “FDA Prevails in Blue State Suit over Abortion Pill Safety (2)” by Sam Skolnick and Nyah Phengsitthy, 7/9/25, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/fda-prevails-in-blue-state-challenge-over-abortion-pill-safety.

[12]  LifeNews, “Abortion Pill Chemicals and Human Remains Are Polluting America’s Water Supply”, 6/19/25, https://www.lifenews.com/2025/06/19/abortion-pill-chemicals-and-human-remains-are-polluting-americas-water-supply/.

[12]  SCOTUS Blog, “Court issues temporary order allowing access to abortion pill by mail” by Amy Howe, 5/4/26]. https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/05/abortion-pill-dispute-returns-to-supreme-court/.

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