The abortion pill won't save women from domestic violence

Homicide is a leading cause of death among pregnant women, and most often at the hands of their partners. But it does not logically follow that killing a woman's preborn child is a solution to this problem.

Key Takeaways:

• A recent article presented the abortion pill as a pathway to escaping domestic violence.

• Abortion supporters claim that easy access to the abortion pill is vital for helping women escape abusive relationships.

• Allowing the abortion pill to be ordered online and shipped in the mail has allowed abusive men to coerce and force women into abortions.

The Details:

A recent article published by The Morning Call shared the story of Carrie Frail, a member of the United States Air Force (USAF) who found herself in an abusive relationship. As she prepared to leave her partner, she learned she was pregnant. Tragically, she felt her best option was to abort her baby.

"I firmly believe he would have killed me at some point," she said, "whether accidentally or intentionally." He threatened to hit her in the stomach until she had a miscarriage.

Ultimately, Frail said she took the abortion pill because she didn't think she'd be able to get away from her abuser otherwise. So while she was worried he would cause her to miscarry, she chose to have an abortion out of fear and a lack of support.

"I was too wrapped up mentally and emotionally in my life with him that ... I needed to be able to leave without giving him a phone number or letting him know where I was," she said. "I still believe that an abortion saved my life" (emphasis added).

They Were Pressured. They Pressured. Both Regret the Abortion

Sadly, an innocent human being was intentionally killed due to the decision that resulted from this belief.

Zoom Out:

While abortion proponents argue that the abortion pill must remain available through the mail for women in abusive relationships who need "discreet" abortions, pro-lifers point out that countless women have been tricked and forced into taking the abortion pill after it became available to order online.

One of those women, Rosalie Markezich, is a plaintiff in a lawsuit alongside the state of Louisiana against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that aims to restore a previous safety rule mandating an in-person visit with a certified abortion pill prescriber.

Using Rosalie's email address, her baby's father went online, pretended to be her, and ordered abortion drugs from California doctor Remy Coeytaux. Coeytaux mailed the drugs to her home without any verification as to whether it was truly Rosalie ordering the drugs, how far along she was, how old she was, or any other testing.

After the abortion pill arrived, her then-boyfriend pressured her to take them.

"I kept telling him, 'I want [the baby]. I don't want to abort my baby.' At that moment, he said I would ruin his life if I had this baby, and I told him, 'What about mine?'" she explained. "Eventually, after all of the shouting, I told him that if I aborted my child, I would never be the same. I did not wish to or want to take the pills. He stopped the car very suddenly and snapped at me. I've been around abusive men before, so I know the signs and I know when I need to watch my back. I was terrified. I was crying."

She continued, "Eventually I said, 'Fine,' and came up with a plan to take the pills and immediately go throw them up. I felt coerced. He was watching me do it."

Sadly, Rosalie's baby did not survive, despite her plan.

Rosalie is far from alone.

Jeffery Smith, John Welden, Jin Mimae, Ronald Powell, Manishkumar Patel, Mason Herring, Darren Burke, Hassan-James Abbas, Emerson Evans, and others are just some of the men named in the press for slipping or forcing abortion drugs upon women.

The Bottom Line:

According to research, most pregnancy-associated homicides are "linked to the lethal combination of intimate partner violence and firearms. Preventing men's violence towards women, including gun violence, could save the lives of hundreds of women and their unborn children in the US every year."

The solution to domestic violence is not more violence. Induced abortion is the direct and intentional killing of preborn children. When a woman is being abused, she needs support and help escaping that abuse, and her baby should be allowed to escape the abuse with her.

Pressure to abort her baby, even internal pressure, is an extension of the abuse. Killing her baby perpetuates the violence and passes it on to her child.

Allowing the abortion pill to be available online and shipped through the mail has opened the door to abusive and coercive abortions, permitting violence against women and children.