From
the cramped quarters of the motel room her family of five
shared when they first arrived at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater,
Florida, Astra was moved into a dormitory where, because Scientology
would not provide a bed for her, she slept on a couch for
a year.
This
was the beginning of Astra's life in the sub-standard and
oppressive living environment that is accepted as routine
to those in the Sea Organization.
Astra's
affidavit covers her formative childhood and teenage years.
In it she describes the poor schooling she received and the
hours working at the behest of the Church of Scientology,
including having to guard other members who wanted to leave.
Shortly after her fifteenth birthday, Astra married a 21-year-old
man on the orders of her superiors. She tells of being belittled
and yelled at by other Sea Org members, including her own
mother, when she refused to get an abortion after becoming
pregnant at 19.
In her
affidavit and in newspapers articles published in the San
Francisco Chronicle on February 12, 2001 and also in the
London Daily
Mail on February 17, 2001 , Astra speaks out about these
horrific experiences and many others inconceivable to those
unfamiliar with the practices of Scientology.
In "The
Story of Kate," Astra Woodcraft details the pressure
that was brought to bear on her to abort her baby when it
was discovered that she was pregnant. Meet Astra's beautiful
daughter, Kate, who is alive today because of Astra's courageous
escape from Scientology's Sea Organization.
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