Another member of 'All Saints' says she was pressured to abort. She resisted.

Nicole Appleton, a member of the British girl group "All Saints," has previously spoken about how she was pressured into abortions. Now, another band member has revealed that she, too, received the same treatment when she became pregnant.

Key Takeaways:

Singer Nicole Appleton has previously said she was coerced into abortions by music executives.
Fellow "All Saints" member Melanie Blatt says she was also pressured to have an abortion when she became pregnant.
Blatt spoke about her experiences in a new documentary, "GirlBands Forever."

The Details:

In the new documentary "GirlBands Forever," Blatt said both she and Appleton became pregnant while "All Saints" was at the height of the group's fame.

When they told their label bosses they were pregnant, both were told to have abortions so they could focus on the success of the band instead. The group had just hit the American record charts with their hit "Never Ever," and executives didn't want their momentum to be stopped. Blatt had been dating Stuart Bender, the bassist for Jamiroquai.

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"I hadn't been with my partner for very long; it was definitely a bit of a surprise," she said. "It wasn't people congratulating us. It was more like this look of dread and worry and the realisation that things are going to change. We flew to LA, and at the airport LAX, our manager, he was behind us, was telling us to abort our babies."

Blatt refused, however, and gave birth to a daughter, Lilyella. As Appleton did go through with the abortion, the relationship between the two women became strained, though they had been friends since childhood.

“And it’s not really my place to talk about it, but unfortunately . . . it was a very uncomfortable situation because I kept mine; she didn’t," Blatt said.

Thumbnail for Girlbands Forever | Official trailer - BBC

The Backstory:

Appleton had been in a relationship with British singer Robbie Williams when she had her abortion. Previously, she wrote about the experience in her autobiograpy, "Together," authored with her sister and fellow band member, Natalie. The record label and band member Shaznay Lewis were reportedly furious about her pregnancy, and arranged the abortion for her.

She said the abortion was the worst day of her life.

“I was horrified, violated by what I felt was the power of an industry that leads a woman to sacrifice her child to keep a band together,” she wrote in her book. “What mattered was our success and our ability to make money.”

Later, she said she became suicidal. Williams, too, said the abortion tore him apart.

The Bottom Line:

Women are frequently pressured into abortions by family members, partners, educators, or employers, with depression and regret afterward also not uncommon.

Yet women do not need abortion to have successful careers, and they (and their children) deserve better.

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