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From TheUnChoice.com -- an evidence-based Elliot
Institute campaign to raise awareness about unwanted
abortions, post-abortion issues and maternal deaths,
plus help, hope and healing. ... The UnChoice. Unwanted.
Unsafe. Unfair.
New Evidence About "Hard Cases" -- Assault-Related
Pregnancy
Answers that respect authentic women's
rights, plus evidence that abortion was never about real
"choice" for women and their children.
"My stepfather told me the only way was
to have an abortion. He dropped me off and picked me up.
I often wonder what my child would be like today. I am
pretty much over the effects of the molestation, but I
still have to face a lot of effects from the abortion."
-- from "Victims and Victors"
 New
Evidence. New Answers. New Hope.
During political campaigns and in other public or
personal discussions, "the hard cases" are often used to
suggest that abortion must be the answer.
Although pregnancies resulting from sexual assault are
relatively rare, they are still important, and many
Americans remain undecided or have conflicted feelings
about this issue due to the trauma surrounding the
experience.
The Elliot Institute has evidence and resources that
tell a dramatically different -- and ultimately hopeful
-- story about "the hard cases." Our research, education
and outreach materials address these issues with
compassion and new evidence you can use to shed light on
the truth, and update the debate with a hopeful message.
Victims and Victors: Speaking Out
About Their Pregnancies, Abortions and Children
Resulting from Sexual
Assault
 If
you've read our book
Victims and Victors, co-authored by Elliot Institute
director Dr. David Reardon, you already know the truth.
Surveys of women who've been there indicate clearly that
-- contrary to what you hear in the media -- most do
not want abortions or think abortion is the answer.
Those who had abortions in such
situations -- often after being coerced to abort by
those around them or through agenda- or sales-driven
counseling -- have reported that the abortion only
intensified their trauma.
Some have said the abortion was like
"being assaulted again" and they were left with the
added trauma of the abortion and heartbreak of losing a
child. Those who didn't abort said they didn't regret
having given birth.
In many cases, women and girls are
pressured into abortion by the very people whose support
they seek. Often, these friends or family will withhold
moral, personal or practical support and, ironically,
insist that abortion is her "only" option.
We Asked Women Who've Been There
Evidence shows that assault victims are often further
harmed by being coerced into and further traumatized by
abortion. As explored in
Victims and Victors, a survey of women who became
pregnant as a result of sexual assault found that:
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70% had their babies. Of those who
continued the pregnancy, none said they regretted
having given birth or that they wished they had
aborted instead.
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78% said they believed that abortion
was not a good solution for them and that it only
intensified their trauma.
Many only aborted because they felt
pressured by others to do so. In many cases, especially
when the victims were young, it was usually someone
else, not the victim, who chose the abortion. In a
number of cases, abortion was used by the perpetrator to
cover up the crime and even to allow the abuse to
continue.
In one particularly disturbing case
outlined in a separate report, a Baltimore man used up
to 10 abortions to hide his chronic sexual abuses. (See
similar examples in the Elliot Institute's
Forced Abortion in America report.)
Use the resources linked below to tell
others about evidence that abortion -- even in the "hard
cases -- is not about "choice" or helping women and
their children. Instead, it is adding trauma to trauma
and leaving women alone with the heartbreaking
aftermath. (If you or someone you know has experienced
this, see our
Help & Healing page for information about finding
support.)
Learn and Share. Downloads and
Other Resources from the Elliot Institute Regarding the
"Hard Cases."
 We
encourage you to use the research, education and
outreach materials listed below to help educate others.
You can distribute these materials in
print, as handouts or online. Incorporate excerpts from
them into one-on-one conversations or group talks.
Forward them or post links on social media or via emails
to family, friends and group leaders.
Write
letters to the editor sharing this new-to-most
information. When you have an opportunity, challenge
your friends, family, and political, pastoral or other
leaders with new evidence that abortion -- including and
especially when it takes place in already-challenging
situations such as assault -- only makes matters worse.
Please download, print and share these
materials:
Those Who Make Exceptions Forgot
to Ask Women Who've Been There
Ironically, many leaders who are
"pro-life-with-exceptions" in the name of "choice,"
forgot to ask women who've been there, presuming to know
what's best for women instead. Learn more, share this
evidence and these user-friendly resources, and change
the debate with an authentically pro-woman/pro-life
message.
Help Support Valuable Research, Education and Outreach
 The
UnChoice Campaign is an evidence-based,
pro-woman/pro-life education and outreach project of the
Elliot Institute. The Elliot Institute's
peer-reviewed academic research and other expertise
and information is used in important legal, judicial,
legislative, medical, social services and other
policy-making arenas to document abortion's
exploitation, injury and heartbreak to the rights and
lives of both the unborn and mothers.
Our information and materials are also helpful in
deterring abortions and saving lives of unborn children
and mothers, while also encouraging various audiences
and leaders to rethink their assumptions about
abortion.
Due to the urgency and potential of this
message, we invite you to use our downloadable resources
(including many of those above) free of charge. However,
if you are able to make a
donation, however small, it will support and speed
this work.
 GoodSearch,
Shop and Dine ...
They'll Fund Our Work at No Cost to You!
Don't forget to support the Elliot
Institute by using
GoodSearch, GoodShop and GoodDining for everything
from summer fun and back-to-school shopping to Christmas
gifts, travel plans or dinner at your favorite
restaurant. Simply type in "Elliot Institute" as your
charity of choice and they'll direct funding to support
our work at no cost to you.
God bless you for your compassion and
partnership in this work!
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AfterAbortion.org
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Church Awareness Project
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AbortionRisks.org
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