Church of Scientology faces lawsuit on forced abortion accusations from former member

A court has ruled that a lawsuit filed against the Church of Scientology on charges of forced abortion can proceed.

The ruling is a legal victory for Laura Ann DeCrescenzo from New Mexico, who fought seven years to have the court hear her case. She said she is also suing the organization for intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment.

At the very young age of six, DeCrescenzo became a member of the Church of Scientology, where she helped as a volunteer. When she turned 12, she left home and went to live in the organization's headquarters in the West Coast, the Pacific Area Command Base or "PAC Base," which is also called the "Big Blue" because of the building's color.

While there, she worked at Sea Org, the organization's religious order, where she signed a billion-year contract that tied her to the organization. DeCrescenzo said she was cut off from her family.

"I wasn't allowed to speak with my family," she revealed at a 2010 press conference, ABC 7 reported. "You're not allowed to have more than twenty dollars on you at any given time."

She received a small weekly pay — up to $50 on good days, but mostly lower than that — for her job, which lasted from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. When she turned 13, she was made to adapt an "adult" work schedule, and her work hours were extended to past midnight. She was constantly deprived of sleep.

She said she was also constantly being watched, and she was not allowed to wander alone.

However, her most traumatic experience with the organization happened when she got pregnant. She said people forced her to have an abortion, telling her the baby was just "tissue" and that it was for "the greatest good." She was told that If she didn't comply, she would lose her husband, her home and her job. She was only 17 at that time.

"I never agreed to have an abortion," DeCrescenzo said. "Did I concede? Yes, I did. Does it kill me every day? Yes, it does."

The forced abortion has caused her "severe emotional stress," she said. She planned to get out of the organization by attempting suicide.

"I actually took a gulp of bleach because I knew that if I was considered a suicide risk, they would get rid of me immediately," she explained. However, she was not able to leave the Church of Scientology until four years later.

DeCrescenzo filed charges against the organization in 2009.

Bert Deixler, the organization's legal counsel, said that the law allows churches to advise a minister to put off having children.

"Under the First Amendment, churches may encourage a minister of a religious order to forego child rearing so she or he may continue a religious life. Courts may not interfere with those efforts," Deixler said.

He filed for the case dismissal, which Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Doyle denied. Although it took seven years for the lawsuit to proceed, the case can now go to trial.