Abstract
Reproductive abuse—ranging from contraceptive sabotage and coerced pregnancy to coerced abortion and sexual violations such as stealthing—operates as a distinct and under-recognized form of domestic violence. By assessing medical, sociological, and legal research, it is clear how reproductive abuse holds a victim’s body and reproductive ability hostage, producing long-term physical, psychological, and familial harms. Existing criminal statutes, which focus on force-based sexual offenses, do not capture non-physical reproductive violations such as medication tampering or nonconsensual condom removal. Further, civil remedies, including tort claims and custody determinations, inadequately account for the harms of coerced conception and the long-term legal ties it creates between victims and abusers. Through comparative statutory analysis, this Article demonstrates the gaps in current law and argues for targeted reforms, including criminalization of contraceptive tampering, new civil causes of action, custody rules that account for coercive conception, and restoration of abortion access. Ultimately, this Article concludes that recognizing reproductive abuse as domestic violence is essential to protecting bodily autonomy and enabling survivors to reclaim control over their reproductive lives.
Recommended Citation
Kadhapriya Lindo,
The Baby and the Bathwater: Reproductive Abuse as Domestic Violence and Empowering Bodily Autonomy Through the Law,
36 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y
455
(2026).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jlpp/vol36/iss3/1