Woman in Rick Pitino Abortion Scandal Says He Forced Her, Documents Say No

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 14, 2009   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Woman in Rick Pitino Abortion Scandal Says He Forced Her, Documents Say No

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 14
, 2009

Louisville, KY (LifeNews.com) — University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino has found himself caught up in a sex scandal in which he allegedly had sex with a woman and she had an abortion afterwards. A sordid week had featured his apology, a police investigation and accusations that Karen Sypher tried to extort $10 million from him.

Now, Sypher says she had an abortion and that Pitino coerced her into having it after she became pregnant during their affair.

The famous coach and Sypher met in August 2003 and she accused Pitino of rape, which police officials have decided not to prosecute for lack of evidence. The scandal has publicly embarrassed the coach and may ultimately cost him his job, though he hopes to retain it.

Sypher says two weeks after the couple had sexual relations, she became pregnant. when she confronted Pitino with the news, she tells the New York Post he said he wanted her to get an abortion.

"This is all I have of the baby," she told the newspaper — holding up a picture of an ultrasound done prior to the abortion.

"I’ll never forget. I wanted to have the baby, but Rick said my children would all be in concrete. I lived in fear for five years," she said. "I prayed to God, ‘Please, I don’t want this.’ When they called my name [at the clinic], I stood up."

But the newspaper indicates paperwork Sypher provided it to prove she had an abortion "contradicts her account" because she checked boxes showing she felt "confident" and "strong" that having the abortion was the right things for her.

Sypher also checked off boxes showing she did not thing abortion was the murder or killing of a human being.

The Post also indicated that voice-mail messages prove Pitino wanted Sypher to keep the baby.

"I think that the best thing in all scenarios is to go through with it [have the baby], but that it has to be your call," he said. "I think, I really can’t give you any advice, except I have thought about it," he said. "This is a very unfortunate situation . . . You just let me know what you’re gonna do."

Sypher decided to have an abortion and Pitino says he gave her $3000 to cover the costs even though abortions routinely cost between $400 and $500.

Pitino’s equipment manager, Tim Sypher — who, in a bizarre turn, later married Karen — drove her to a Cincinnati abortion center.

Although there may not have been one in this case, research has brought to light the grim reality of forced abortion and the damage it inflicts upon women.

Studies of post-abortive women reveal that 64 percent of abortions involve some sort of coercion against the mother’s will. A total of 45 percent of men interviewed at abortion centers recalled urging their pregnant partner to abort, including 37 percent of married men.

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