Researchers once thought the practice of reproductive coercion—tampering with a woman’s birth control so that she becomes pregnant—was rare. A new study suggests it’s one of the most common abuse tactics. The study, conducted by the Women’s Institute for Policy Research, found that 40% of women in abusive relationships faced reproductive coercion. Most eventually became pregnant.
Reproductive Coercion: A Common Abuse Tactic
The study surveyed 164 intimated partner violence (IPV) survivors across 11 states and the District of Columbia. Participants had an average age of 38 years old, and answered numerous questions about their abuse history, living situation, and economic status.
Forty percent said they experienced forms of reproductive coercion, including:
- being stopped from using birth control
- a partner tampering with condoms or other birth control
- a partner forbidding birth control or abortion
Reproductive coercion was an effective strategy. Eighty-four percent of women who experienced it eventually became pregnant.
How Reproductive Coercion Perpetuates the Cycle of Abuse
Reproductive coercion keeps women in abusive relationships. Pregnancy makes them physically and financially vulnerable, and some believe that staying with their abuser is the right thing to do. For women in abusive relationships, pregnancy can be deadly. Homicide is the leading cause of death in pregnant women, and most pregnant women who are murdered are killed by their abusers. Twenty percent of all maternal deaths are due to homicide.
The study’s authors estimate that IPV costs survivors an average of $103,000 in lost earnings, economic damages, and costly injuries. Reproductive coercion forms a large slice of this pie. Research consistently finds that pregnancy and motherhood increase gender pay disparities. Pregnancy discrimination is one of the most common forms of gender-based discrimination.
Once a woman gives birth, she may be unable to take time off of work. The demands of parenthood may further isolate her from friends and family, making her more vulnerable to escalating abuse.
Is Forbidding Abortion a Form of Reproductive Coercion?
When women can’t access safe and legal abortion, reproductive coercion can become lethal. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world. It’s safer to give birth in the West Bank than in the United States. Research consistently shows that when abortion is banned, women die. Yet a cascade of abortion restrictions have made the procedure inaccessible to many women—especially women in abusive relationships.
Abortion bans don’t just put abused women at risk. They operate as a society-level form of reproductive coercion that disproportionately affects poor women, women of color, young women, and women living in rural areas with few or no clinics. There is only one remaining abortion clinic in Missouri and six other states.
The Turnaway Study, which followed women denied abortions, found that women who could not access abortions were more likely to remain in abusive relationships.