17 of 19 Pregnancies Terminated by Abortion Addict

October 15, 2009 by Cathy Ribble
Filed under: News

Irene Vilar has written a book detailing the 15 abortions she underwent.

Irene Vilar calls herself an “abortion addict”, claiming to have terminated 15 pregnancies in 17 years. Two daughters survive the addiction according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.

The story begins when Vilar became involved with Pedro Cuperman, a professor of Latin American literature. They met at Syracuse University when she was 16 and he was 50. The relationship lasted 11 years. Vilar claims Cuperman believed “families are a nest of suffering”. Having children was not an option.

In her new memoir, “Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict,” Vilar reports that she was chosen by Cuperman because he thought of younger women as “unformed…unfinished, with not too many wounds.” She rebelled against Cuperman’s control by “forgetting” to take her birth control pills. She became excited when she learned she was pregnant, but then panicked because she did not want to lose her husband.

Again and again, each time she became pregnant, Irene Vilar went for an abortion. The mixed feelings of relief and despair eventually led to several suicide attempts.

Vilar is now a series editor of the Americas at Texas Tech University Press. Her tragic dysfunctional life has changed. She is the happy mother of two young daughters, 3-year-old Lolita and 5-year-old Loretta. Her home has been morphed into a preschool setting with education books, toys and art supplies.

In 1996, at 27, Vilar published a well-received memoir, “A Message from God in the Atomic Age,” recently reissued as “The Ladies Gallery.” The story sheds additional light on the tragic family history with Puerto Rican roots.