A nonprofit organization that assists women throughout Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan, Real Alternatives provides pregnancy and parenting support services with a focus on empowering women to protect their reproductive health and choose life-affirming alternatives to abortion. Real Alternatives also offers resources to help women assert their rights if they feel that they are being pressured to have an abortion.
Forcing a woman to have an abortion is illegal. A woman’s family, friends, medical professionals, and the baby’s father must allow her to make the decision. If you feel pressured to have an abortion, consider taking the following steps to assert your rights and protect your child:
1. Make yourself heard. Clearly express your opposition to an abortion to each person who brings up the subject, particularly clinic and medical personnel. You can further emphasize your right to refuse an abortion by threating legal action if medical or clinical personnel go through with the procedure against your wishes.
2. Don’t sign anything. Avoid signing documents provided to you by your parents or clinical personnel that may indicate your agreement to an abortion. This includes certificates that state you received information on abortion.
3. Seek legal intervention. You can obtain legal assistance if you feel that you are being forced to have an abortion. Contact the county courthouse and ask the court of common pleas to intervene on your behalf. For assistance in locating the number of your local county courthouse, call 1-888-LIFE AID.
