Domestic Violence and Abortion Bans
Domestic violence calls about reproductive coercion doubled after the overturn of Roe
By Jennifer Gerson , Shefali Luthra
Those experiencing domestic violence are faced with a reality where an inability to receive reproductive care is also further endangering their lives, new data shows.
Reports of abuse involving reproductive coercion — actions that prevent someone from making crucial decisions about their body and reproductive health — nearly doubled in the yearlong period after Roe v. Wade was overturned, according to new data from the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH).
“If you cannot make these decisions, it could mean unfortunately that you have to stay in an abusive situation longer than you want to,” Marium Durrani, the vice president of public policy at the NDVH, told The 19th. “It could impact your escape, it could mean that potentially you’re forced to have a child with someone you don’t want to have a child with.”
Durrani explained that reproductive coercion can take the form of any situation in which one partner is exerting power over another in a way that impacts their reproductive health: forcing someone to engage in sexual activity, refusing to use contraception, restricting a partner from seeing a health care provider, telling a partner they are not allowed to receive abortion care.
“A lot more people are now citing some sort of reproductive issue as part of their experience [with domestic abuse],” Durrani said. “Dobbs is having a huge impact on not only all individuals around the country, but survivors in particular.”
The hotline reported that in the year before the Dobbs decision — from late June 2021 to the end of May 2022 — 1,230 of the people who contacted the hotline said they experienced reproductive coercion or mentioned abuse. The number of people saying so nearly doubled — to 2,442 — for the same period a year later.
With increased limitations on access to reproductive health care – and especially abortion care — in the 18 months since the Dobbs ruling, those experiencing domestic violence are facing a reality where an inability to receive this care is also further endangering their lives and safety.
This story was originally published by The 19th.