UK women coerced on reproduction

■ Pregnancy and abortion high risk, must not be forced

London, March 24: Research done by polling company D-Cyfor has found that one in seven women in Britain were coerced by a partner into either getting pregnant or having an abortion.

The study found 14 per cent of women were bulled over reproduction, having either felt pressured into conceiving or having a termination.

While eight per cent women experienced pressure to become pregnant, seven per cent were pushed into abortion, the study concluded.

Earlier, British Medical Journal defined the phenomenon of coercion over reproduction as “actions that interfere with a woman’s reproductive intentions and any actions that pressurise or coerce a woman into initiating or terminating a pregnancy”.

Experts have warned that the proportion of women who have experienced such coercion will be significantly higher than 14 per cent because that figure does not include those who have had birth control pills hidden or stolen, condoms sabotaged or removed during sex, or a partner lie to

them about having a vasectomy.

Reproductive coercion is not a new phenomenon, but seems to be defined as

a concept in a 2010 study in journal Contraception.

“Women must not be forced to either stop a pregnancy or have a pregnancy. Having an unwanted baby is as emotionally damaging as terminating one. Carrying a child and going through a pregnancy is such a high-risk thing. It is not something people should be forced into,” said Amy Bucknall, a safeguarding nurse at UK’s Marie Stopes.

While the maternal mortality rate in the UK is 9.8 women per 100,000 pregnancies, maternal mortality is a big problem worldwide. Every day, 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.