Scientology and abortion
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The intersection of Scientology and abortion has a controversial history which began with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's discussion of abortion in his 1950 book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Hubbard wrote in Dianetics that abortion and attempts at abortion could cause trauma to the fetus and to the mother in both spiritual and physical ways. Scientologists came to believe that attempted abortions could cause traumatic experiences felt by the fetus, which would later be remembered as memories referred to in Scientology as "engrams". In the Scientology technique called Auditing, Scientologists are frequently queried regarding their sexual feelings and behaviors. These questions about Scientologists' sexual behavior are often posed to members during "security checks", a specific form of auditing sessions where individuals are required to document their divergence from the organization's ethics. One of the questions asked in these security checks is, "Have you ever been involved in an abortion?".
A female former member of Scientology's elite organization called the
In 2001, former Scientologist
In commentary on Scientology and practices in the Sea Org, new religious movements scholar J. Gordon Melton told the San Francisco Chronicle that members of the Sea Org are discouraged from having children. Melton wrote in a contribution in the book New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America that he had yet to see documents confirming whether Scientology had a policy demanding that pregnant members of the Sea Org get an abortion. In an article for the Marburg Journal of Religion, Stephen A. Kent wrote that "researchers should not be surprised to learn of pressures that Sea Org women felt to either abort pregnancies or give-up children for adoption". Kent commented, "Sea Org obligations override many personal and family obligations and responsibilities, and devotion to the Scientology cause often appears to take priority over the needs of children."
L. Ron Hubbard's views
"The child on whom the abortion is attempted is condemned to live with murderers..."
Scientology founder
Hubbard wrote in Dianetics, "The child on whom the abortion is attempted is condemned to live with murderers whom he reactively knows to be murderers through all this weak and helpless youth!".[2] He asserted:
A large proportion of allegedly feeble-minded children are actually attempted abortion cases, whose engrams place them in fear paralysis or regressive palsy and which command them not to grow but to be where they are forever. However many billions America spends yearly on institutions for the insane and jails for the criminals are spent primarily because of attempted abortions done by some sex-blocked mother to whom children are a curse, not a blessing of God.[2][5]
In a 1950 article in Look magazine, Albert Q. Maisel wrote, "Unlike many religious groups, the proponents of dianetics have nothing against birth control. But the greatest of all crimes and the root of most evils, as they see it, is the attempt - or even just the verbal wish - to cause the abortion of a child already conceived. They object here, not so much on moral grounds, as because such attempts - or such wishes and thoughts - load down the time track with the basic-basic demon engram.[6]
In his 1951 book
According to The World's Religions: The Study of Religion, Traditional and New Religion, "early Dianetics enthusiasts believed that attempted abortion of the fetus by its mother caused "traumatic experiences in intra-uterine life".[8] Stephen J. Hunt noted in Alternative Religions that Scientologists believe certain events in one's life may trigger a memory referred to in Scientology as an "engram".[9] Hunt wrote, "The engram may be triggered by association of events and objects. Although the conscious mind will eventually forget an incident, the reactive mind stores every detail. According to Hubbard, some of the most powerful engrams are constructed while still in the womb. The unborn child hears the angry words of parents caught up in marital disputes or perhaps talk of abortion.[9]
Scientology practice
Auditing
In the Scientology technique called Auditing, Scientologists are frequently queried regarding their sexual feelings and behaviors.[10] These questions about Scientologists' sexual behavior are often posed to members during "security checks", a specific form of auditing sessions where individuals are required to document their divergence from the organization's ethics.[10] Scientologists on the spiritual pathway known as "The Bridge to Total Freedom" are given security checks, and those of the level called Operating Thetan receive these checks once every six months.[10] Scientology officials explained that the security checks are given "to make sure they're using the tech correctly".[10] Among the sexual questions asked in the Scientology security checks include, "Have you ever practiced sex with animals?", "Have you ever practiced sodomy?", "Have you ever slept with a member of a race of another color?", and "Have you ever been involved in an abortion?".[10][11]
Sea Org
In a 1987 interview with sociologist Stephen A. Kent, a former member of Scientology's elite organization called the Sea Org discussed the views of Scientology with regard to abortion in the 1970s.[12] During the mid-1970s, the Sea Org operated on vessels at sea.[12] Women understood that it was not permitted to raise children on board the ships.[12] According to woman interviewed by Kent, these women on board the Sea Org ships were pressured to undergo abortions.[12] "On the ship, I know of a lot of people that had abortions, because they didn't want to leave the ship. It wasn't like anybody said 'You have got to get an abortion.' It was more an implied thing. If you don't you're going to leave," said the woman to Kent.[12]
Mary Tabayoyon joined Scientology in 1967 and became a member of the Sea Org in 1971, later leaving Scientology in 1992.[12] Tabayoyon filed a legal declaration on August 26, 1994 in the case Church of Scientology International vs. Steven Fishman and Uwe Geertz, describing Scientology's practices on having children in the Sea Org.[12] She said that while at Scientology's base in Hemet, California, "members of the Sea Org were forbidden to have any more children if they were to stay on post[,] and the Hubbard technology was applied to coercively persuade us to have abortions so that we could remain on post".[12] According to Tabayoyon this pressure was exerted during a Scientology procedure known as "ethics handling", where individuals were instructed to go along with L. Ron Hubbard's policies as well as those of Scientology.[12] Tabayoyon said "[I] gave up my child due to my greatly misguided obligation and dedication to the Sea Org".[12] She stated she made the decision to give up her child because she was "indoctrinated to believe that I should never put my own personal desires ahead of the accomplishment of the purpose of the Sea Org".[12]
In 1999, former Scientologist Jesse Prince told
Betty Hardin, a former worker in the finance department at Golden Era Productions, has described routinely driving pregnant women to the Planned Parenthood center in Riverside, California to obtain abortions and follow-up treatment.[14] According to Hardin, she eventually got out of being the driver for the "abortion run" because the anti-abortion activists who often picketed the Planned Parenthood center saw her so often that they came to recognize her.[14]
In 2001, former Scientologist
In 2003, The Times of India reported that "Forced abortions, beatings, starvation are considered tools of discipline in this church."[17] In 2005, a former high-ranking member of the Sea Org told the New York Post, "It is estimated that there have been some 1,500 abortions carried out by women in the Sea Organization since the implementation of a rule in the late '80s that members could not remain in the organization if they decided to have children. And if members who have been in the Sea Organization for, say, 10 years do decide to have kids, they are dismissed with no more than $1,000" as a severance package.[18] Former Scientologist and Sea Org member Karen Pressley recounted to Andrew Morton in the 2008 book Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography that she was often asked by fellow Scientologists for loans so that they could get an abortion and remain in the Sea Org.[19][20] "I had a real problem because I don't believe in abortion," said Pressley.[19][20] She repeated the allegation in a book she wrote, detailing her escape from Scientology.[21] Morton wrote that "Scientology officials reject as 'simply false' the assertion that Sea Org women are encouraged, as a matter of policy, to have abortions."[19][20]
In April 2008, Astra Woodcraft appeared on the
Former Scientologist and actor Jason Beghe and former Scientologist and Sea Org member Marc Headley commented on issues of Scientology and abortion in September 2008 at a conference in Hamburg, Germany sponsored by Germany’s Department of Interior Affairs.[24][25] "It is against the codes of Sea Org to have children. If a female staff member for some reason was married, and got pregnant, then she's basically forced or convinced to have an abortion. If she refuses to have an abortion, then she will be offloaded from the Sea Organization and in most cases, declared; and she will not be able to speak to any of her family or friends that are Scientologists," said Headley.[25]
In 2009, husband and wife Marc and Claire Headley filed lawsuits against Scientology's Golden Era Productions, asserting the organization participated in
Laura Ann DeCrescenzo filed a lawsuit in 2009 against Scientology, in which she asserted the organization had engaged in "human trafficking, obstructing justice, employment violations, discrimination and violation of privacy".[27] "There are two very different versions of Scientology. There is the Scientology as presented to the outside world and there is a different Scientology in which plaintiff lived and worked for approximately 13 years. In the Scientology world plaintiff experienced, 12-year-old children are taken from their homes, asked to sign employment contracts and put to work. Pregnant women are coerced to have abortions," wrote DeCrescenzo in her complaint.[27] She asserted in the complaint that while in Scientology she was "coerced to have an abortion".[27] The complaint stated, "At age 12, plaintiff signed her first 'Contract of Employment.' She left school, home and family to work for the Church of Scientology International. This required that plaintiff move to another state. She was married to a co-worker at age 16, became pregnant while still a minor and was coerced by CSI to have an abortion at age 17."[27]
In March 2009,
Australian politician
Former Scientologists Anna and Dean Detheridge of Sydney had been Scientology staffers for 17 years, and according to Senator Xenophon they had been "subjected to physical and mental abuse during their time with the organisation".[34] The Senator said that, "Anna and Dean also provided evidence where information they and others have revealed to the church have been used to blackmail and control. They also provided more information about coerced abortions."[34] Mike Ferriss, the head of Scientology in New Zealand, denied the claims of forced abortions, saying to 3 News "There are no forced abortions in Scientology and if Aaron Saxton or anyone else coerced someone into having an abortion then they are way outside of the Church's policy and ethical conduct. We respect human life and the rights of mother's and families in such matters. The Church does not intervene."[37] In March 2010, former Scientologist Janette Lang stated that at age 20 she became pregnant by her boyfriend while in the organization,[38] and her boyfriend's Scientology supervisors "coerced them into terminating the pregnancy".[39] "We fought for a week, I was devastated, I felt abused, I was lost and eventually I gave in. It was my baby, my body and my choice, and all of that was taken away from me by Scientology," said Lang.[39] Lang explained why she chose this time to come forward, "I'm speaking out today because the time has come for victims of Scientology to be heard."[40] Scientology spokesperson Virginia Stewart rejected the statements made by Janette Lang, and asserted, "The Church of Scientology considers the family unit and children to be of the utmost importance and does not condone nor force anyone to undertake any medical procedure whatsoever."[41]
Commentary
In his book A Piece of Blue Sky, author Jon Atack commented, "A rather peculiar aspect of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health was Hubbard's emphasis on 'attempted abortions.'"[4] Atack pointed out that Hubbard thought attempted abortions caused ulcers, and noted, "He had been suffering from a duodenal ulcer since 1943.[4] Author George Malko wrote in Scientology: The Now Religion that "Hubbard's extensive discussion of things sexual, his concern with abortions, beatings, coitus under duress, flatulence which causes pressure on the foetus, certain cloacal references, all suggest to me a fascination which borders on the obsessive, as if he possessed a deep-seated hatred of women. All of them are being beaten, most of them prove to be unfaithful, few babies are wanted."[4][5] Hubbard's interest in abortions was criticized in the 1965 Anderson Report as "a morbid preoccupation with matters relating to abnormal behaviour of women" and "a prurient and distinctly unhealthy attachment to abortions, rape, perversion, and similar matters."[42]
"Children take people off-line, so they discourage members of the Sea Org from having children."
New religions scholar J. Gordon Melton told the San Francisco Chronicle that Scientology discourages members of the Sea Org from having children.[15] "They don't look at children as a resource, but as a problem. Children take people off-line, so they discourage members of the Sea Org from having children," said Melton.[15] In the book New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America, Melton contributed a chapter, "A Contemporary Ordered Religious Community: The Sea Organization".[43] In the piece, Melton commented on statements he had seen about Scientology and abortion in "anti-Scientology literature".[43] Melton wrote, "It has been asserted in some anti-Scientology literature that the Church had, at least for a time period, demanded that any female Sea Org members who became pregnant obtain an abortion. I have been unable to find any verification of that allegation."[43] Melton went on to assert, "Given the nature of the church, were this ever to have become a policy of the Sea Org, there would have undoutedly been a paper trail of documents which, if they existed, have never been produced."[43]
In an article in the Marburg Journal of Religion, Stephen A. Kent discussed Scientology and abortion, writing "Because the attitude among some Sea Org leadership appears to be that children hinder adults from performing their vital assignments, researchers should not be surprised to learn of pressures that Sea Org women felt to either abort pregnancies or give-up children for adoption."[12] He commented, "Taken together, the interviews, legal declarations, media accounts, and internal documents present troubling glimpses into the lives of Scientology's most committed members. Sea Org obligations override many personal and family obligations and responsibilities, and devotion to the Scientology cause often appears to take priority over the needs of children."[12]
In a 1998 speech, attorney and Scientology critic Graham E. Berry commented on Mary Tabayoyan's affidavit about Scientology and abortion, "Mary Tabayoyan has testified as to how she and other Scientologists were ordered to have abortions; and I have argued before a court that that constitutes instructions to commit murder. At the very least, it denies a woman freedom of choice with regard to abortion. And why does Scientology do this? Because children require "Family Time" and "Family Time" interferes with production; the production of things that produce money."
See also
References
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- ^ ISBN 978-0-88404-632-5.
- ^ St. Petersburg Times. www.sptimes.com. p. 11A. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
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- ^ Maisel, Albert Q. (December 5, 1950). "Dianetics: Science or Hoax? Half a million laymen have swallowed this poor man's psychiatry. Now they're set to try it on others". Look Magazine.
- ^ ISBN 0-88404-001-1.
- ISBN 0-415-06432-5.
- ^ ISBN 0-7546-3410-8.
- ^ from the original on April 30, 2009.
- ISBN 0-9713942-4-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kent, Stephen A. (July 1999). "Scientology -- Is this a Religion?". Marburg Journal of Religion. 4 (1). archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ The Press-Enterprise. The Press-Enterprise Co. p. A03.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-530-89980-1.
- ^ a b c d e f Lattin, Don (February 12, 2001). "Leaving the Fold - Third-generation Scientologist grows disillusioned with faith". San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle Publishing Co. p. A1.
- ^ Los Angeles Times staff (February 29, 2008). "Kids against Scientology". Web Scout. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ The Times of India staff (July 17, 2003). "Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology". The Times of India.
- News Corporation. p. 011.
- ^ a b c MSNBC staff (January 15, 2008). "Exclusive: 'Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography' - Read an excerpt from Andrew Morton's controversial new book". Today.com. NBC. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-312-35986-7.
- ISBN 978-0-9990881-0-4.
- ^ Nightline. ABC News.
- ^ Nightline. ABC News. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Beghe, Jason (September 4, 2008). "Jason Beghe speech at That is Scientology! Reports from the USA". That is Scientology! Reports from the USA. Department of Interior Affairs, Germany.
- ^ a b Headley, Marc (September 4, 2008). "Marc Headley speech at That is Scientology! Reports from the USA". That is Scientology! Reports from the USA. Department of Interior Affairs, Germany.
- ^ The Press-Enterprise. The Press-Enterprise Co. p. C01.
- ^ a b c d Courthouse News Service staff (April 3, 2009). "Scientology Accused of Human Trafficking". Courthouse News Service. www.courthousenews.com. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ a b Baca, Nathan (March 31, 2009). "Former Scientologist Recounts 'Torturous' Past Inside the Church". KESQ-TV.
- ^ a b c Baca, Nathan (April 1, 2009). "Former Scientologists Claim Coerced Abortions, Child Labor Inside Church". KESQ-TV.
- Wired News. www.wired.com. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c Tedmanson, Sophie (November 19, 2009). "Church of Scientology accused of torture and forced abortions". The Times. Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- Canwest News Service. Archived from the originalon November 21, 2009. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- Irish Times. www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ a b c d O'Loughlin, Toni (November 18, 2009). "Scientology faces allegations of torture in Australia: Australian prime minister considers inquiry after senator tables allegations including forced abortions, assault and blackmail". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- New Zealand Herald. APN Holdings NZ Limited. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ 3 News staff (November 26, 2009). "Kiwi blows the whistle on Scientology". 3 News. www.3news.co.nz. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Scientologists forced me to have two abortions". Herald Sun. www.heraldsun.com.au. March 17, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ^ a b Australian Associated Press (March 17, 2010). "Scientologists forced me to have two abortions, ex-disciple says". News.com.au. News Limited. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ^ "Scientologists pressured me to have abortions". ABC News (Australia). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. March 27, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ^ Anderson, Kevin Victor (1965). Report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology. State of Victoria. p. 44.
- ^ ISBN 0-918954-92-4.
- ^ Berry, Graham E. (March 30, 1998). "The Dark Side of Scientology". Phoenix Television, Hamburg, Germany.
- FECRIS.
Further reading
- Childs, Joe; Thomas C. Tobin (June 13, 2010). "Church of Scientology: No kids allowed". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
- OL 39467941M.
- OL 26305813M.
- Hernandez, Miriam (February 12, 2010). "Ex-Scientologists to expose alleged abuse". KABC-TV. ABC. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
- OL 3793635M.
- OL 26305813M.
- Reichelt, Peter (1997). Helnwein und Scientology. ISBN 3-923801-93-9.
- Times staff (June 13, 2010). "Scientology and abortion". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
External links
- "Scientology positions - Abortion". St. Petersburg Times. July 18, 2004. Archived from the originalon September 17, 2009.
- "Forced Abortions in Scientology: Mary Tabayoyon affidavit". Cult Awareness and Information Centre. August 26, 1994. Archived from the original on November 20, 2009.
- "New Hampshire picket and forced abortions". Operation Clambake. September 7, 1998.