Study shows link between forcing women to carry pregnancies and domestic abuse

[ck4829]

Reproductive coercion, as it's known, takes several forms. Partners may verbally or physically threaten women if they use birth control or seek abortions, or they may throw away or damage birth control and remove condoms during sex. It usually takes place within an already abusive relationship, especially those that are emotionally abusive. (See "When to Get Pregnant After a Miscarriage.")

"It's another way a male partner tries to control a female partner," says Elizabeth Miller, associate professor of pediatrics at the U.C. Davis School of Medicine, who has led much of what little research there is on the issue. "Women say their partner tells them he wants to leave a legacy or have them in his life forever."

In a study Miller published in January, involving about 1,300 female patients ages 16 to 29 at family-planning clinics in Northern California, about a third of those who reported being in violent relationships said they had experienced reproductive coercion. But while the problem seems to be most acute among the young, it isn't exclusively so. In a study Miller co-authored in April, as many as 75% of women between the ages of 18 and 49 who had a history of being in an abusive relationship also reported some form of reproductive coercion. (See TIME's video on maternal mortality in Sierra Leone.)

Now, in her latest research, co-authored with Jay Silverman of the Harvard School of Public Health and others, Miller concludes that there may be a simple and cost-effective way to help women who are in danger of being intimidated into pregnancy. Simply asking women who visit family-planning clinics if their partner has ever tried to force them to get pregnant, and providing them with information on how to deal with it, can help spur women to get out of abusive relationships or take measures to protect themselves.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100901/hl_time/08599201490100

[niyad]

1. k and r

[EOTE]

2. Yet another revelation from "Duh!" Magazine. NT

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Well said. The forced birthers are abusers....and what else is new?

[Brickbat]

3. So sad and infuriating.

Becoming pregnant by choice and with whom and when I wanted was one of the most radicalizing things I've ever done. It became very clear that no one should have to go through it unless she wants to.

[Karenina]

4. PENIS POWER!!!

Our global problem is the degradation of women. Utah Phillips really nailed it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6y2St9zfQs
What I've linked is for those who are just beginning to think. For others farther along, I suggest looking up his interviews. Utah GOT IT. HE understood the damage patriarchy has done to our societies. From my view at the "bottom of the totem pole" I cherish his efforts to inform and enlighten.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. I have always felt that the so-called, "Right to Life" movement was nothing more than one

more attempt to keep women out of power, out of control, and out of independent lives.

That is why I could NEVER understand how any woman in her right mind could be a part of it.
My best guess: Stockholm Syndrome

I guess not all misogynists are men..