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Rock Star Courtney Love Resisted Coerced Abortion, Reports Memoir

Ohio House set to vote on anti-coercion bill

By Michael Baggot

COLUMBUS, OH, May 26, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As debate wages over legislation prohibiting coerced abortion, a new book reveals that renowned rock star Courtney Love resisted pressure to have an abortion.

A new memoir reveals that those closest to Love encouraged her to abort her child with Kurt Cobain, front man of the rock band Nirvana, due to health complications Love's heroine use was expected to cause her child.

"You're not telling me to have a [bleep]-ing abortion, are you?' asked Courtney, her voice rising with her trademark hostile whine. 'I mean I'm pro-choice, but that doesn't mean that anyone has the right to tell me to have a [bleep]ing abortion.'" reports former CEO of Warner Bros. Records and Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg in his new book "Bumping Into Geniuses."

"[The doctor] suggested that it might not be safe for the baby, and Courtney, who was only six weeks pregnant, went into a confrontational mode. 'Is that a medical fact, or is that just your opinion? I want to see it in a medical book.' She was interested in medical facts, not a sermon."

"[He] sheepishly acknowledged that at this early stage of pregnancy a woman could discontinue heroin use with no physical or psychological damage to the fetus. Courtney looked triumphant as she towered over the doctor seated at his desk," recalled Goldberg.

After ending heroine use, Love gave birth to a completely healthy child named Frances Bean in August 1992.

Love's situation recalls the continuing debate over legislation against coerced abortion.

The Ohio House of Representatives, for instance, is set to vote on the anti-coercion House Bill 280 on Wednesday. 

The bill would require abortion facilities to post "No One Can Force You to have an Abortion" posters that would include information about current state law requiring that women sign consent forms before undergoing an abortion.  The posters must also encourage women to contact clinic employees if they feel coerced.

HB 280 would also increase penalties for domestic violence perpetrators who are aware their victim is pregnant.

"Protecting pregnant women from coercion and violence should receive unanimous support from the Ohio legislature. There's no excuse for domestic violence and there's no excuse for opposing this woman-friendly legislation," said Janet Morana, co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign (SNMAC) for men and women hurt by abortion.

Debate also continues over anti-coercion legislation in Missouri.

Both gubernatorial candidate Sarah Steelman and the Missouri Right to Life organization have called for a special session for House Bill 1831, which died with the end of the state's 2008 legislative session after only five minutes of debate in the Senate, despite having passed the Missouri House 113-33.

Under HB 1831, those guilty of pressuring or coercing an abortion would face up to five years in prison and a $1,000 fine.  The bill would have also required women considering abortion to see an ultrasound of their child and receive information about the pain the fetus would feel during the abortion.

On April 10, Idaho became the first state to legally forbid individuals from forcing a woman to have an abortion.  The state's House Bill 654 criminalizes any physical harm or threats used with the intention of inducing an abortion.

Planned Parenthood of Idaho (PPI) expressed disappointment over the enactment of the new law on their website. Instead of the anti-coercion legislation, PPI encouraged more programs dealing with domestic abuse, increased contraceptive distribution, and the development of "comprehensive sex education" programs.

In contrast, the SNMAC applauded Idaho for its new law and encouraged all states to adopt similar legislation.

"Abortion is traumatic on its own, coerced abortion is beyond horrific. Those who oppose domestic abuse and those who seek to protect women and their unborn babies should unite to support this kind of legislation in every jurisdiction," stated SNMAC co-founder Georgette Forney.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Catholic Kansas Gov. Sebelius Vetoes Restrictions on Late-Term Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08042203.html

Idaho Becomes First State to Criminalize Coercing a Woman to Have an Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08041409.html

Pro-Abortion Groups Fighting Michigan Ban on Coerced Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/dec/06121306.html

Learn more about men and women hurt by abortion:
http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org

Learn more about pro-life developments in Ohio:
http://www.ohiolife.org

Contact your House representative by typing in your ZIP code here:
http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/Representatives.jsp

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