A woman is speaking out after alleging her former partner used mail-order abortion drugs in a case she describes as coercion that ended her pregnancy and led to criminal charges.
In an op-ed published by The Daily Wire, Jona Affholder, an Ohio healthcare worker, says she became pregnant during a relationship in which she was initially pressured to have an abortion. She alleges that after refusing, her partner secretly obtained abortion drugs online and later used them in a violent incident that resulted in a medical emergency and hospitalization.
Affholder says her former partner has been charged and pleaded no contest, and that his medical license has been revoked. She argues the case highlights risks of abuse involving online access to abortion medication and the absence of in-person medical safeguards.
The case comes amid broader debate over abortion decision-making and coercion.
Research shows that women report experiencing pressure from partners or family members when deciding to have an abortion, raising questions about how voluntary some decisions may be.
A peer-reviewed study by the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that nearly 70 percent of surveyed women reported some level of pressure or coercion, including 45 percent who said the pressure was substantial, based on responses from more than 1,000 women.