General

“Abortion addict” pens memoirs

Woman had 15 abortions in 17 years; cites need to escape dysfunctional family as reason

A book written by a Denver woman who had 15 abortions from the time she was 16 is threatening to reignite the abortion debate in the United States. Irene Vilar, the child of Puerto Rican parents, has described the bizarre set of circumstances that led her to seek abortion after abortion until the age of 33, when she turned the page on her life. She believes she fell into the cycle as the result of a paradox: coming from Puerto Rico, where population concerns had resulted in government programs in birth control and forced sterilization, she regarded motherhood as an empowering experience; yet she was married to a man who believed children were a limit on personal freedom and families were “nests of suffering.” Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict has lent fuel to critics who say abortions are used as first-line birth control. For abortion rights activists, the case is complicated by the fact Vilar, now 40, appears to be an otherwise intelligent, self-possessed woman—a successful literary agent with two young daughters.

Los Angeles Times

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