I am pro-choice, but I fight against abortions. I understand from my own experiences what is running through the minds of women considering abortion and try to warn them about the pain, depression and life-long regret that follows the procedure. From what I read, Vilar's story is about a whole new level of torment: self-inflicted torment, the torment her first husband inflicted on her and her own issues with control based on her maternal role models.

After reading the LA Times story, I think a lot of people are going to misunderstand Vilar. Frankly, I don't think she was addicted, but merely trying to take her place as a mother only to succumb to the fear her first husband provoked in her because of his twisted views on children. If he truly does believe all the things Vilar said, it sounds to me like she was under the fierce, jagged and psychologically abusive wing of a child molester. She was only 16 when they met, while he was 50. The man should be in jail as far as I'm concerned. Calling herself an addict is a way of explaining away her actions without implicating him because chances are good she still fears him.

To answer your question, no this does not change my view on abortion. I will continue to encourage new mothers (who seek my advice) away from aborting their child, but still leave the ultimate decision up to them without fear of judgment. I hope to make the new mothers I talk to think about what they are doing before they do it and let them know that keeping their child, no matter how unplanned, will be a blessing they can't imagine once they get past the fear.

If anything, I'll purchase a copy of the book and get a better understanding of Vilar's story. I have a feeling this book, if read properly, will open people's eyes to the underlying reasons behind her abortions: her fear of her husband and her programmed issues with control.

Regardless of her issues with control, which are only exaggerated by her first husband's manipulation, I wonder why the focus is on her abortions and not the 50-year-old man who began a sexual and manipulating relationship with a 16-year-old girl and scared her into terminating her pregnancies when all she wanted was a family with a man she was coerced into loving because she didn't know any better.