ANNOUNCER:
WHAT IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN SLEEPING IN A CARDBOARD BOX OR SUFFERING THROUGH A PAINFUL, UNNECESSARY AND UNWANTED SURGERY?
WHAT IF THEY FORCED THE SURGERY... AND WHEN YOU CRIED OUT IN PAIN, THEY ORDERED YOU TO SHUT UP?
IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY IN AMERICA, WHEN WOMEN ARE PUSHED, PRESSURED OR VIOLENTLY FORCED INTO UNWANTED ABORTIONS.
UP TO 83 PERCENT OF ABORTIONS ARE UNWANTED,1 64 PERCENT INVOLVE COERCION2 ... AND SOMETIMES VIOLENCE.
SHONTRESE SAID SHE DIDN'T CHOOSE ABORTION ... UNTIL THE HOMELESS SHELTER THREATENED TO KICK HER OUT ON THE STREET.3
MARY DIDN'T CHOOSE ABORTION ... UNTIL HER HUSBAND SMASHED A COUPLE OF LAMPS, DESTROYED THEIR APARTMENT AND ORDERED HER TO MAKE THE APPOINTMENT.4
JULIE DIDN'T CHOOSE ABORTION ... UNTIL HER PARENTS LOCKED HER IN THE HOUSE FOR TWO WEEKS BEFORE SHE FINALLY COMPLIED.5
STUDIES SHOW THAT MOST ABORTIONS ARE PUSHED, NOT CHOSEN. BUT A LOT OF WOMEN WHO DIDN'T CHOOSE THEIR ABORTIONS ARE CHOOSING TO HEAL ... AND THEY'RE WARNING OTHERS THAT A COERCED, UNWANTED AND PAINFUL CHOICE IS REALLY NO CHOICE AT ALL.
ABORTION IS THE UN-CHOICE ... UNWANTED, UNSAFE, UNFAIR
LEARN MORE AT UNFAIRCHOICE.INFO
RADIO :60 SPOT
The UnChoice: Suicide -- Stuffed Rabbit
ANNOUNCER:
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN YOUR DAUGHTER...YOUR SISTER...YOUR FRIEND.
ON A COLD AUTUMN DAY, 19-YEAR-OLD ARLIN DECIDED TO END HER LIFE.6
SHE TUCKED A TINY STUFFED RABBIT INTO ONE POCKET AND A SUICIDE NOTE IN THE OTHER. SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO BE WITH THE BABY SHE HAD ABORTED JUST TWO WEEKS EARLIER.
ARLIN'S FRIEND SAID SHE DIDN'T WANT THE ABORTION ... MOST WOMEN DON'T. MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF ABORTIONS ARE UNWANTED.1 AND 64 PERCENT INVOLVE COERCION2 … AND SOMETIMES VIOLENCE.
EVERY DAY, WOMEN LIKE ARLIN ARE PUSHED INTO ABORTIONS THEY DON'T WANT.
AFTERWARDS, MANY DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE AS A NIGHTMARE THAT WON'T END..
SOME SAY THE WORST PART OF THE PAIN IS THAT THERE'S NO ONE TO SHARE IT WITH. FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND EVEN COUNSELORS OFTEN DENY THEM THE RIGHT TO GRIEVE.
FOR MANY, ABORTION HITS CLOSE TO HOME. SOMETIMES TOO CLOSE. THEY FOUND ARLIN'S BODY HANGING FROM A TREE NOT FAR FROM HER PARENTS' HOME . . . WITH A STUFFED RABBIT IN HER POCKET, AND A SUICIDE MESSAGE THAT ALL OF US NEED TO HEAR.
WHEN SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING TO COPE WITH AN UNEXPECTED PREGNANCY OR AN UNWANTED ABORTION, WE CAN HELP..
ABORTION IS THE UN-CHOICE ... UNWANTED, UNSAFE, UNFAIR.
LEARN MORE AT UNFAIRCHOICE.INFO
RADIO :60 SPOT
The UnChoice: Shotgun abortions
ANNOUNCER:
DID YOU KNOW THAT 64 PERCENT OF WOMEN HAVING ABORTIONS TODAY FEEL PUSHED, PRESSURED2 OR EVEN VIOLENTLY FORCED INTO UNWANTED ABORTIONS?
IN MANY CASES, A WOMAN'S SO-CALLED "CHOICE" IS NOT REALLY A CHOICE AT ALL. IT'S A THREAT, AN ULTIMATUM OR A SHOVE. IT'S HIS FIST THROUGH THE WALL ... HER JOB ON THE LINE ... OR EVEN A REVOLVER IN HER BACK.
IN FLORIDA, A MOTHER PUSHED HER DAUGHTER INTO AN ABORTION CLINIC AT GUNPOINT AND TOLD THE STAFF TO "IGNORE HER IF SHE GETS A LITTLE TEARY ..."7
IN BALTIMORE, A FATHER RAPED HIS THREE DAUGHTERS FOR 9 YEARS AND FORCED A TOTAL OF 10 ABORTIONS BEFORE SOMEONE FINALLY REPORTED HIS ABUSE ...8
IN MINNESOTA, A WOMAN TESTIFIED THAT, WHEN SHE WAS SIX MONTHS PREGNANT, HER BOSS THREATENED TO PUSH HER DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS WHEN SHE RESISTED HIS DEMANDS FOR AN ABORTION.9
STUDIES SHOW THAT MOST ABORTIONS INVOLVE NOT THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE BUT THE DUTY TO COMPLY.
NO WONDER WOMEN ARE CALLING IT THE UN-CHOICE. BECAUSE AN UNWANTED AND PAINFUL CHOICE IS REALLY NO CHOICE AT ALL.
ABORTION IS THE UN-CHOICE ... UNWANTED, UNSAFE, UNFAIR.
LEARN MORE AT UnfairChoice.info.
RADIO :60 SPOT
The UnChoice: Workplace Coercion
ANNOUNCER:
SOMETIMES, A CHOICE ISN'T REALLY A CHOICE. ... IT'S THE UN-CHOICE — AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE.
64 PERCENT OF ABORTIONS ARE PUSHED, PRESSURED2 OR FORCED. IN SOME CASES, WOMEN HAVE HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AN ABORTION ... AND A PAYCHECK.
... IN CHICAGO, A COLLEGE BASKETBALL COACH WAS FIRED FOR REFUSING AN ABORTION.10
... IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THREE PARAMEDICS WERE PRESSURED INTO ABORTION AFTER THEIR BOSS SAID, "YOU HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE."11
... A LONG ISLAND RESTAURANT FIRED A WOMAN AFTER SHE TOLD HER SUPERVISOR SHE WAS PREGNANT.12
.... NOT EVEN A MATERNITY SHOP IS SAFE FOR PREGNANT EMPLOYEES. IN PHILADELPHIA, A MANAGER FILED CHARGES AGAINST A MATERNITY CLOTHING RETAILER FOR FIRING EMPLOYEES AFTER THEY BECAME PREGNANT.13
NO WOMAN SHOULD BE FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HER PAYCHECK AND AN UNWANTED ABORTION WITH LONG-TERM AFTEREFFECTS.
FOR MOST WOMEN, ABORTION IS THE UNCHOICE ... UNWANTED, UNSAFE, UNFAIR.
LEARN MORE AT UNFAIRCHOICE.INFO.
Citations
1. David C. Reardon, Aborted Women, Silent No More (Springfield, IL: Acorn Books, 2002) 11- 21.
2. VM Rue et. al., "Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women," Medical Science Monitor 10(10): SR5-16, 2004.
3. Mark Bowes, "Forced-Abortion Suit Settled for $25,000 But Shelter Denies Making Eviction Threat," Richmond Times Dispatch, Oct. 29, 1998, p. A1.
4. Theresa Burke, Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion (Springfield, IL: Acorn Books, 2002)
5. Julie Woodley, Restoring a Wounded Heart (Cleveland, TN: Frontline World Ministries, 2003).
6. Kevin Sherlock, Victims of Choice, (Akron, OH: Brennyman Books, 1996); Christian Broadcasting Network, "Pennsylvania Abortion / Suicide," Nov. 6, 1992.
7. "Mother charged in forcing abortion, Said to threaten daughter with gun," Washington Times, Aug. 3, 2000; "Woman in Forced Abortion Case Gets No Jail Time," Associated Press, January 6, 2001; "Mom Won't Go to Jail," Orlando Sentinel (Metro Edition), Jan 7, 2001. pg. B.3; "Mom Tries to Force Teen Into Abortion: The Woman Forced Her Pregnant Daughter at Gunpoint to Go to a Clinic Near West Palm Beach," Orlando Sentinel, Aug. 3, 2000; pg. D.
8. Jean Marbella, "Satisfactory explanations of sex crime proved elusive," The Baltimore Sun, Oct. 31, 1990; M. Dion Thompson, "GBMC, doctor suspected nothing amiss," The Baltimore Sun, Oct. 31. 1990; "Family Horror Comes to Light in Story of Girls Raped by Father," The Baltimore Sun, Nov. 4, 1990; Raymond L. Sanchez, "Mother Sentenced in Rape Case," The Baltimore Sun, Dec. 6, 1990.
9. Pro-Life Infonet, Aug. 2, 1999; "The Many Faces of Coercion," The Post-Abortion Review, 8(1):6, Jan.-March 2000.
10. "Fired Basketball Coach Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit," Pro-Life Infonet, Sept. 16, 2002; Anne Benjaminson and George Chikovani, "Stanley Told Former Assistant to Have Abortion," The Daily Californian, Sept. 17, 2002; Ted Olsen, "Forcing Abortions: Mandated abortions happen in the U.S., too," Christianity Today, Nov. 18, 2002, Sally C. Pipes, "Choice Contradictions, Double Standards," The Contrarian, 6(10), Oct. 8, 2002.
11. "Fearing Job Discrimination, DC Woman ‘Forced' to Have Abortion," Pro-Life Infonet, attributed to Washington Times, Aug. 30, 2001; "Disciplinary Action Against EMS Supervisor in Coerced Abortion Case," SPUC News Service, attributed to Washington Times, Aug. 13, 2002; "More DC Medics Say They Were Forced to Have Abortions," Pro-Life Infonet, attributed to Washington Times, Cybercast News Service; August 31, 2001; "EMS Chief Who Coerced Medics' Abortions Retires," Pro-Life Infonet, attributed to Washington Times, Sept. 23, 2002; Carol D. Leonnig, "3 Women to Receive Payment in Bias Suit," Washington Post, September 15, 2005; Page DZ01.
12. "EEOC Sues John Harvard's Brew House For Pregnancy Discrimination," news release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission," Aug. 6, 2003 (www.eeoc.gov/press/8-06-03.html); Steven Ertelt, "NY Mother Files Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Against Restaurant," LifeNews.com, Aug. 7, 2003 (www.lifenews.com/nat69.html); "EEOC Files Pregnancy-Bias Suit against Restaurant," Business and Legal Reports, Aug. 7, 2003 (http://hr.blr.com/display.cfm/id/8747).
13. Steven Ertelt, "Maternity Store Sued for Pregnancy Discrimination After Employee Fired," LifeNews.com, June 30, 2003; Theo Emery (AP), "Maternity wear company sued by woman fired while pregnant," Portsmouth Herald, June 27, 2003; "Maternity Clothier Case Settled," 6 Action News (www.6abc.com), July 26, 2005.
