Reproductive Coercion: The Violation of Reproductive Autonomy

Content warning: This article discusses reproductive coercion, sexual assault, nonconsensual condom removal, forced pregnancy and abortion, miscarriage, physical violence, and sexually transmitted infections. 

Today, I will be sharing my dear friend's story with her permission. To conceal her identity, I will refer to her as M.

M was a freshman in college who saw college as an opportunity to explore her identity and sexuality after growing up in a heavily religious household. She was cautious about her sexual health and clearly told a man she met that they would not have sex together unless he used a condom. Although he initially agreed, he later removed the condom without her knowledge or consent and continued having sex after she told him he was hurting her. Bleeding and overwhelmed by feelings of disgust, emptiness, and betrayal, M went to the ER for testing, emergency pregnancy prevention, and treatment for her injuries. She later had an IUD inserted because it was the only thing that gave her a sense of protection against an unwanted intrusion into her body. The rape cost her nearly $1,000 in medical expenses and left her afraid to have sex again until she met her girlfriend. At the time, M did not realize that what she had experienced was a form of reproductive coercion. 

Dr. Elizabeth Miller created the term reproductive coercion, which happens when one person controls another person’s reproductive system (Domestic Violence Services Network, Inc. 2023). Reproductive coercion can include someone forcing or putting pressure on someone else to become pregnant (or impregnating them), carrying to term an unwanted pregnancy, or tampering with birth control methods (such as poking holes in a condom, removing a condom during sex without the other person’s consent, replacing birth control pills with a placebo item, and more). Reproductive coercion can also take the form of forcing someone to do an abortion, vasectomy, physical violence to induce a miscarriage, as well as, again, tampering with birth control methods to terminate or prevent a pregnancy (such as making someone ingest abortion-inducing agents) (Domestic Violence Services Network, Inc. 2023). Black women experience higher rates of reproductive coercion compared to women of other races, and Hispanic women experience higher rates of reproductive coercion compared to non-Hispanic women (Muñoz et al. 2023). Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much research done about transgender men and nonbinary people experiencing reproductive coercion. More work needs to be done to spread awareness about this issue and to prevent more people from becoming victims of reproductive coercion.

Helen was a Jewish woman who was taught her whole life that her “only purpose in life as an ultra-orthodox Jewish woman was to give birth to the next generation of law-abiding ultra-orthodox Jews.” (Rushton 2018). She had no exposure to sources that could educate her and inform her of her rights. She was arranged to marry a man, and before the wedding she was taught how to have sexual relations with him, dehumanizing her. She could not be naked near her husband while menstruating because she was considered “unclean,” and could not access fertility treatments without permission from the rabbi. Once her daughter was born, she struggled with postpartum depression and asked her husband if she could get permission from their rabbi to go on birth control. Her husband refused to ask the rabbi for permission. Not only did the rabbi dictate what Helen could do with her body, but her husband also participated in reproductive coercion through their marriage. 

There was a woman who was pregnant by her ex in 2019. She was excited to continue her pregnancy journey and to care for the fetus she was carrying; however, her ex, Jagmeet Sandhu, was not pleased. The reason why they broke up was that Jagmeet kept pressuring the woman to perform an abortion she did not want to have. On December 19, 2019, he held her at gunpoint in her home and forced her to ingest pills to end the pregnancy. Sandhu, when interviewed by police, told them that his family was extremely disappointed that he impregnated a woman who was “non-Indian”, as he comes from a traditional Punjabi family. The woman, continuing to experience the pain and trauma caused by Jagmeet, said “What’s done is done, and nothing will ever change or bring back what was taken from me.” (Kotowski 2022). 

On top of preventing a healthy pregnancy from progressing or forcing someone to carry to term, reproductive coercion may also increase risks of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Women who had experienced pregnancy coercion within the three months preceding this study were 78% more likely to test positive for an STI compared to those who did not experience it (Capasso et al. 2019). Reproductive coercion can also look like being forced to have pregnancies back-to-back. There is a reason why the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends avoiding pregnancy intervals shorter than six months: it's because close pregnancy intervals increase many health risks for the person giving birth and their baby. Gestational diabetes, infant death, placental abruption, preterm labor, uterine rupture, and many more health conditions may increase (Heyworth 2026). This is why it is so important for physicians, family members, community members, and others to watch out for the warning signs of reproductive coercion. Conversely, constantly being forced to have abortions is another form of reproductive coercion that can deteriorate the mental health of the victim. Performing unsafe abortions, which look like a person who lacks the skills or refuses to follow standard protocol to perform an abortion on someone, or an environment that does not comply with medical standards, poses a greater threat to someone’s health. Health risks associated with unsafe abortions include heavy bleeding, lifelong injuries, damage to organs, loss of fertility, and death (MSI Choices 2026). The difference between safe and unsafe abortions is that the health risks listed above are extremely rare when safe abortions are performed. Although this is true, in any case of reproductive coercion, it is inhumane for someone’s bodily autonomy to be stripped away from them. 

Reproductive coercion is fundamentally a violation of bodily autonomy and the right to make decisions about one’s own reproductive health. As M’s story and the experiences of others show, reproductive coercion can take many forms, such as tampering with contraception, forcing someone to become pregnant, or forcing someone to continue or end a pregnancy against their consent. Victims may not immediately realize their experiences as forms of abuse because reproductive coercion can be difficult to recognize. Greater awareness among people, families, healthcare providers, and communities can help others recognize the warning signs, access support, and protect their autonomy. No one deserves to be forced to surrender control over their body or reproductive choices to another person, group of people, or government. 

References

Capasso, A., DiClemente, R. J., & Wingood, G. M. (2019). Pregnancy coercion as a risk factor for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among young African American women. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 82(2), S155–S161. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000002174

Domestic Violence Services Network, Inc. (2023). The complexities of reproductive coercion. https://www.dvsn.org/april-2023-the-complexities-of-reproductive-coercion/

Heyworth, K. K. (2026). Back-to-back pregnancies: Risks, tips, and health insights. Parents. https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/pregnancy-health/surviving-back-to-back-pregnancies/

Kotowski, J. (2022). “I never even got the chance to listen to the heartbeat;” Victim statement read at sentencing in forced miscarriage case. KGET. https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/jagmeet-sandhu-forced-miscarriage-manslaughter-sala-bakersfield-sentencing/

Muñoz, E. A., Le, V. D., Lu, Y., & Shorey, R. C. (2023). Reproductive coercion and intimate partner violence victimization among a racially and ethnically diverse young adult sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(1–2), NP1261–NP1278. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221092349

Rushton, G. (2018). These women have shared their stories of reproductive coercion. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeed.com/ginarushton/reproductive-coercion-complicated-contraception

MSI Reproductive Choices. (2026). Unsafe abortion: Consequences, facts & statistics. https://www.msichoices.org/latest/unsafe-abortion-consequences-facts-statistics/