Reproductive Health and Partner Violence
I recently read “’He Thought a Baby Would Keep Me in His Life Forever: When Partner Abuse Isn’t a Bruise But a Pregnant Belly” by Lynn Harris. The article sheds light on an issue long ignored even by those concerned both with domestic violence and reproductive health or rights: there is a strong, visible, and destructive connection between domestic violence and women’s reproductive health. The article highlights some of the current research being done on the topic and pays special attention to the connection between teen pregnancy and partner violence.
In a culture that glorifies teenage pregnancy and demonizes single mothers and women who chose to terminate their pregnancies, attention to the obvious relationship between such things as unplanned pregnancies and abuse is long overdue.
Harris states that “reproductive control” is a more common facet of partner violence than most have been willing to recognize. More women and experts are citing “boyfriends demanding unprotected sex, lying about “pulling out,” hiding or destroying birth control — flushing pills down the toilet, say — and preventing (or, in some cases, forcing) abortion.”
This article made me think of a recent news story out of Long Island about a two-day-old baby lying in a shoebox in a vestibule in a Long Island apartment. I scoffed as news anchors freely informed viewers that if the mother were found, she would most likely face prosecution and jail time for child abandonment. Did anyone stop to ask some simple questions about this woman and what led her to take such a drastic step? Did anyone ask where the father was? Who could possibly know the circumstances surrounding the abandonment of that infant? Readers, why was the public so quick to solely blame a woman for this tragedy and to judge her exclusively? The story, which generated headlines in the day after the baby was found, came to an anti-climatic end a week later when reporters mentioned the mother had been taken into police custody. I was not able to find out anything further about the woman or the story in preparation for this post.
After reading this article would those who passed judgment on this woman think about immediately assigning blame to the nearest woman involved next time?
It is important that medical practitioners rapidly adopt practices that will help detect domestic violence in the lives of their patients, particularly pregnant women. Anyone involved with the choice movement should keep this connection in mind in order to ensure that the goals of the movement are met.
1Annaleigh
wrote on 3 July 2009 at 13:16
Great post, thank you!
2Aj
wrote on 4 July 2009 at 16:30
You are absolutely right on this Janice. Domestic violence hardly ever gets talked about, particulary when it comes to hegemonic control over a woman’s reproductive choices. I mean hell, if the government can do – why can’t husbands and boyfriends? It’s ridiculous and it’s disheartening.
I actually knew a young woman who suffered from a similar situation to this. She was 18 years old, and getting ready to graduate and head away to college. Her boyfriend, who was three years older than her, was reluctant to even support her decision to leave him for a higher education and an “away from home” college experience. He put a tremendous amount of pressure on her to have unprotected sex, assuring her that he knew what precautionary measures to take in order to prevent any sperm from getting her pregnant. Of course, lack of comprehensive sex education in my high school prevented her from knowing how to react in this kind of situation – and she went along with him thinking that he had her best interest in mind. Of course she later ended up pregnant, giving up school, staying at home while he followed his dreams and aspirations.
It just so happens that this same person also turned out to be both verbally and physically abusive later in the relationship. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Abuse comes in many different shapes and sizes, and controlling women’s reproductive capacity is certainly one of them.
3Janice
wrote on 6 July 2009 at 6:51
Thank you so much for reading!
I think a lot of women become talked into giving up their dreams for the ‘good of the children’ but in reality, there is a lot of coercion from their partner involved.
I also hope that this new focus on violence and reproductive health will help to end the glorification of teen pregnancy.
4María
wrote on 7 February 2010 at 17:38
I once had an abusive boyfriend who practically incarcerated me in his room, and didn´t want me to have any contraception. I got pregnant and had an abortion, but had to do it behind his back, or he’d become violent. I even had to involve the police, becouse he wouldn´t accept me leaving him and would follow me everywhere. His stupid theory was that if I had the baby, I wouldn´t leave him and he would control me, which to a certain extent was true, because it would be very difficult for me to do that on my own. I had to be really determined to get my way, and even get another partner who forcibly opposed me, because he was a real pain in the butt. I got rid of him, but it was a very long process.