Posted on 07/20/2012 6:22:57 AM PDT by wagglebee
The controversial Church of Scientology is coming under criticism from multiple women who all say they were forced to have abortions. The Church has been a source of debate since its founding by American science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.
Adding to the debate, the Church of Scientology is now facing accusations from scores of women who say they are been pressured or coerced into having abortions against their will – and Laura DeCrescenzo, a New Mexico resident, is leading the way with a lawsuit against the “Church.”
The Village Voice newspaper has a lengthy article on her struggle:
All told, over the three years she’s been suing Scientology for the way she was treated as a young Sea Org employee — including, she alleges, being forced to have an abortion at 17 so she could keep working extreme hours without interruption — she’s been deposed a total of four and a half days.
Just keeping up with what’s happened to her lawsuit since she first filed it in 2009 has also been exhausting — the case has been to state and federal courts, to a state appeals court, and now back to a state trial judge, and it’s still a year from an actual trial date. And, as our legal expert Scott Pilutik tells us, DeCrescenzo still has serious hurdles to overcome to even reach that jury trial. But a year ago, Pilutik explained to us that the consequences of this single case are enormous for Scientology, which helps explain why the church is fighting it so hard.
If Laura DeCrescenzo can get her story heard in court, the result could be devastating.
DeCrescenzo has talked at length about the brainwashing she underwent during her time in what many people consider to be a cult. The brainwashing was so extensive that “Church” of Scientology members tried to talk her into thinking she had made the decision to have an abortion.
Also, she says, she constantly has to battle the church attorneys during the depositions over terminology. “They’re always trying to put words in my mouth.”
When she gave an answer about having a forced abortion, for example, she says one of the church attorneys began his next question by saying, “So, when you made the decision to have an abortion rather than leave…”
“I had to stop him. ‘No, I was forced to have an abortion.’ So we ended up going back and forth arguing about that,” she says.
“I think my case is too unbelievable for most people to grasp,” she adds. “It’s almost too unbelievable for me. The fact that I started in the Sea Org at 12 and all that happened, it’s just incredible.”
DeCrescenzo isn’t the only woman who has left the church and alleged to have been forced to have an abortion.
Maureen Bolstad, former Sea Org (a division of the “Church:) member, said in a 2009 interview on KESQ TV News: “If a woman gets pregnant, and does not abort the child, then they are declared a suppressive person. Because,it kind of started out gradually. At first, the thing was, the Church of Scientology International did not want to pay for child care.”
Claire Headley, another former member, filed suit as well.
“In particular, Plaintiff complains that she worked long hard hours for illegal wages, was forced to have abortions to keep her job and was subjected to violations of personal rights and liberties by Defendants for purposes of obtaining forced labor,” he legal challenge says. “The goals of this case include stopping the practice of ordering female employees to have abortions, stopping the practice of oppressive child labor and clearing the path for workers of Scientology organizations to obtain the compensation due them under state and federal labor laws. Plaintiff seeks payment for her work at minimum wage, overtime pay, a permanent injunction against forced abortions and other remedies authorized by law.”
“In the course of, and by reason of her employment with Defendants, Plaintiff was ordered to have abortions, at her expense, and in fact coerced and intimidated into having abortions to keep her job with Defendant. Plaintiff is informed and believes that Defendants continue to ignore labor laws and coerce pregnant workers into forced abortions,” it continues.
Tera Hattaway, former staff member for the Church, swore in an Affidavit in April 2001, “Within a month or so of joining staff I discovered that I was pregnant. At the time I was approximately 22 years old, upset and uncertain as to how to handle this. I was afraid and needed someone to turn to so I confided in Melanie, thinking I needed to let my ex-boyfriend know, as I truly did love him very much and we did have intentions to marry in the future. Melanie’s very strong advice and pressure was to abort the baby. She had gone on to say that at this point in my life it is better to do the greatest good for all. That spending my life “clearing the planet”which means basically to get the planet saved from insanity, would be the greatest good, in other words, a far more noble endeavor than leaving staff to raise a child.”
And Jenna Miscavige-Hill, another former member, talked with ABC’s Nightline program about her experience.
Hill said that “if you get pregnant when you’re in the Sea Org you either have to leave, or you get an abortion. I know women who have had up to four abortions.”
Some critics of the “Church” of Scientology says the evidence is enough to warrant a massive investigation by state and federal authorities and for the IRS to reconsider its decision long ago to allow the Church to hold 501(c)3 nonprofit status. With articles like the one in the Village Voice, the “Church” is likely to face significantly more pressure.
They don't use guns. They use money to influence politicians and they use MIND CONTROL and hard labor for their non-celebs.
It has been written that L. Ron Hubbard bought a yacht so he could do whatever to whomever in international waters. We’ll never know for certain if Tom Cruise or John Travolta are perverts but it’s been written that L. Ron Hubbard was.
L. Ron Hubbard went to see in the first place to do things untoward in international waters. From that insidious way around the law, all these other sea references came into being. To begin with, it was outer space and spaceships but yachts will do when you have an itch or two.
It’s Murdoch. His tweet opened the floodgates. There is a history there with his family and he and his wife are good friends with Nicole Kidman.
What people don’t understand who have never really looked into this...well..forget it. It is hard to believe until you start really delving into the stories.
There is a psychological aspect to the beaten down Scientologist that has no where to go , is afraid, has no money, etc. Not to mention the blackmail stories and the way they get you to admit to things that never really happened. Oh, and if you leave the Sea Org you have a huge debt they say you have to pay.
There is a blind gossip column that seems to be indicating that John Travolta is ready to blow. This would explain the sudden rash of lawsuits against him .
You clearly don’t know much about the Clams.
I do. I ended up working with a bunch of them in LA for a bit more than a year. If I’d known anything more about them before I joined the company, I wouldn’t have taken the job. As it was, I chalked it up to a “learning experience.” And boy, what I learned makes me reach for a gun if someone says they’re from the “church” of Scientology and they’re offering me something.
Yes, they do force people to do things against their will. Yes, they do use threats of violence, physical intimidation and assault on their members.
6. When you're close to power, get some delegated to you-enough to do your job and protect yourself and your interests-for you can be shot, fellow, shot, as the position near power is delicious but dangerous, dangerous always, open to the taunts of any enemy of the power who dare not really boot the power but can boot you. So to live at all in the shadow or employ of a power, you must yourself gather and USE enough power to hold your own-without just nattering to the power to "kill Pete," in straightforward or more suppressive veiled ways to him as these wreck the power that supports yours. He doesn't have to know all the bad news and if he's a power really he won't ask all the time, "What are all those dead bodies doing at the door?" And if you are clever, you never let it be thought HE killed them that weakens you and also hurts the power source. "Well, boss, about all those dead bodies, nobody at all will suppose you did it. She over there, those pink legs sticking out, didn't like me." "Well," he'll say if he really is a power, "why are you bothering me with it if it's done and you did it. Where's my blue ink?" Or "Skipper, three shore patrolmen will be along soon with your cook, Dober, and they'll want to tell you he beat up Simson." "Who's Simson?" "He's a clerk in the enemy office downtown." "Good, when they've done it, take Dober down to the dispensary for any treatment he needs. Oh yes. Raise his pay." Or "Sir, could I have the power to sign divisional orders?" "Sure."Now visualize growing up in a group which uses the above as official management policy which all staff are required to read.7. And lastly and most important, for we all aren't on the stage with our names in lights, always push power in the direction of anyone on whose power you depend. It may be more money for the power, or more ease, or a snarling defense of the power to a critic, or even the dull thud of one of his enemies in the dark, or the glorious blaze of the whole enemy camp as a birthday surprise.
Penthouse: Was this why you became disenchanted with Scientology?Hubbard: It was the beginning. I began to see that my father was a sick, sadistic, vicious man. I saw more and more parallels between his behavior and what I read about the way Hitler thought and acted. I was realizing that my father really wanted to destroy his enemies and take over the world. Whoever was perceived as his enemy had to be destroyed, including me. This "fair game" policy since the beginning. The organization couldn't exist without it. It keeps people very quiet.
Penthouse: Do you mean killed?
Hubbard: Well, he didn't really want people killed, because how could you really destroy them if you just killed them? What he wanted to do was to destroy their lives, their families, their reputations, their jobs, their money, everything. My father was the type of person who, when it came to destruction, wanted to keep you alive for as long as possible, to torture you, punish you. If he chose to destroy you, he would love to see you lying in the gutter, strung out on booze and drugs, rolling in your own vomit, with your wife and children gone forever: no job, no money. He'd enjoy walking by and kicking you and saying to other people, "Look what I did to this man!" He's the kind of man who would pull the wings off flies and watch them stumble around. You see, this fits in with his Scientology beliefs, also. He felt that if you just died, your spirit would go out and get another body to live in. By destroying an enemy that way, you'd be doing him a favor. You were letting him out from under the thumb of L. Ron. Hubbard, you see?
It's a war. With people who have a lot of money (scientologists). You see... they found out that when Sharia Law is fully implemented, scientology will not be permitted as a religion.
Reminds me of the Mafia and family ties back to Sicily.
I guess we learn something new every day.
I knew Scientologists were crazy, but had no idea they excercised this much power over people.
One would have to be insane to join such a cult and even crazier to stay after they discovered the threats.
They must be almost as crazed as Muslims.
I am surprised some despondent member hasn’t blown some of them away.
It happens, like this incident in Portland. Mostly, they try very hard to detect such people and keep them out of the organization.
Consider the number of people who are Communists, despite the documented evidence of what Communism does.
From my non-professional assessment of the people sucked into the cult of Scientology, they fall into two distinctly different groups:
1. The people who have experienced a life crisis - drug addiction, a cheating spouse, divorce, bankruptcy, etc. They look for something to latch onto in life during a time of duress and the “church” is there, offering all manner of support... in return the church starts to use them as “fresh meat” to garnish their earnings, use as nominal slave labor, etc.
2. Celebutards, who are recruited into the church in a completely different manner. Celebs are used to put a respectable public face on the clams’ operations and they’re treated completely differently. Hubbard viewed celebs much as Lenin viewed “useful idiots” - gullible dupes used to further the ultimate ends of the scheme.
Now, here’s why so many people stay after they start to realize the truth:
Scientology uses a technique called “auditing.” This is like a confessional, but with an inquisitor who is probing for all manner of very personal, embarrassing information. The “auditor” then writes all this down and this information is stored by the clams for use against their members, should they start to cause problems.
Crazed as muslims? I don’t know. But the clams are plenty nuts, and not in a charming way.
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