Forced Abortions One Of The Many Abuses From The Church Of Scientology
Last night I had the pleasure of interviewing Astra Woodcraft and her father Lawrence for our Glosslip Radio show on the BlogTalkRadio.com network. Both Astra and Lawrence were in the Church of Scientology's most devout group called the Sea Organization and members who join must sign a billion-year contract. Being part of the Sea Org means devoting your life completely to Scientology and turning over total control to the Church. Apparently this also includes your reproductive life as well.
Astra told of being very young and having come down with a bad flu. As she lay feverish and alone she begged for a mother who refused to be by her daughter's side because she had important work to do for the Church. Astra, too young to understand how "clearing a planet" could take precedent over her need to be comforted by her mother, was forced to endure terrible hardships that "celebrity" adherents of Scientology wouldn't DARE dream of imposing on their own families.
Astra described a world where she was forced to get married at age 15 simply because she was seen kissing a fellow Scientology member outside her dorm: cramped living quarters she shared with fellow child members of the Sea Org. With Astra's days filled with manual labor, a sparse diet consisting of rice and beans for every meal, and religious indoctrination classes; stealing a kiss must have seemed liked a welcome respite from Astra's harsh reality.
So at age 15, Astra was sent to Las Vegas to be married to her first crush due to the strict rules of sexual relationships for those in the Sea Org. Making only $11 dollars a week and being forced to pay for all of life's luxuries like soap, shampoo and any other toiletries left virtually nothing to be used in the way of birth control. The Church of Scientology did NOT provide the basics to these "forced couples" and now that she was married, Astra was a ticking time bomb for becoming pregnant.
As could be expected now at age 19 and already married for 4 years, Astra found herself pregnant. When she informed those at the Church of her pregnanct, she was presented with two choices; have an abortion, or be cut off from all of her family including her mother, sister, brother and husband. Astra's father had already left he Sea Org and was quietly playing by the rules so as not to lose contact with his children. This was the life-line Astra needed to save her unborn child an unfair fate.
Continued on the next page
