Reproductive Coercion Is Something Ob-Gyns Should Ask About, Says American College Of Obstetricians

[redqueen]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/reproductive-coercion-ob-gyns-contraceptive-sabotage_n_2544413.html

(Reuters Health) - Doctors should ask teen girls and women whether their partners are trying to force them to get pregnant or otherwise "reproductively coercing" them, according to a group of ob-gyns.

That could include pressuring women to have sex - possibly without a condom or other birth control, forcing them to continue (or end) a pregnancy or intentionally exposing them to sexually transmitted infections, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

...

"What we've found is that many male partners are more actively involved than we would have thought in really blocking women and girls' ability to do that, as a form of control that's part of a larger picture of violence against women and girls," added Silverman, who wasn't part of the ACOG committee.

One study of the National Domestic Violence Hotline found a fourth of callers had experienced reproductive coercion.

...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports close to three in 10 U.S. women have experienced rape, stalking or physical violence by a partner. Other studies suggest as many as half of women will experience psychological aggression from an intimate partner at some point in their lives.

...

Roe v. Wade was an important step, but we still have a very long way to go before women are viewed by society as being in control of their own bodies.

[annabanana]

1. It's a deeply ingrained way of life in much of the world.

So much so that they wouldn't understand the concept.