Category: Anti-Choice Abortions

This story is from a teenager who was pressured into abortion by her boyfriend, who came with her to make sure she went through with it. Sitting in the abortion clinic about to have an abortion against her will, she wished that some “crazed, lunatic Christians” would come and save her.

“After we parked, a man on the sidewalk tried to talk to us, but Jerry yelled at him to leave us alone. We entered through a metal detector and up some stairs to the waiting room.

We waited for hours in a cramped room with about 30 other women. One woman sat next to me and declared loudly to her friend, “I already have one son. That’s enough.” It made me sad to think how callous these people were – workers and patients alike. I wanted so badly for some “crazed, lunatic Christians” to storm the doors and rescue me. But they didn’t come.

I went into an office for a pregnancy test, and they confirmed that I was pregnant. A nurse told me it could be a tubal pregnancy, which would kill me, and how, because I was so young, I could die giving birth if I carried to term. I learned later that these statements were not true. I think this was a scare tactic, so I would have an abortion…

I expected the doctor to be a nice person who would take pity on me. I asked if it would hurt and he said, “It’s gonna hurt a lot more if you go through labor!” As he spoke, he didn’t look directly at me, and he seemed irritated.

I felt like I didn’t have a choice. My boyfriend wasn’t going to let me leave until I went through with it.…

My baby’s life ended that overcast April day.”

Barbara Horak Real Abortion Stories: The Hurting and the Healing (El Paso, Texas: Strive for the Best Publishing, 2007) 25

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Sadly, no one helped this teen, and she came to deeply regret her abortion. Her wish for “lunatic Christians” to help her went unheeded. There was no screening at the clinic, and no one stopped to find out if this was what she really wanted. In fact, the clinic worker tried to scare her into having the abortion, and the doctor was rude.

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From one woman who was pressured into an abortion:

“My mother was furious… She hated me for what I had done. She took me immediately to have an abortion. “Wait a minute… I don’t want an abortion.” I thought to myself. She said I had to do it. She took me and promised not to tell my father. I could not stand for him to know… I was so embarrassed and ashamed. I could not stand to look at myself in the mirror… From that day on, I hated my mother. I turned to drugs, boys, sex, lies, and alcohol. I dropped out of school… Became a stripper and a prostitute on drugs. Had a total of four more abortions… Two of which I was forced to do and the last two of which I chose to do on my own because I had no feeling in me left… I was so far gone. My life was hell.”

Sharon Serratore “Coerced into Unwanted Abortions”  The American Feminist Fall/Winter 2016

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“I went to the abortion clinic with the idea of stopping the procedure at the last-minute. That way, I thought, I could appease my husband. At least it would seem like I had tried to please him. Looking back, I realize I was afraid my husband…

We were led into a counseling room by a woman with a pleasant smile. After we sat down, I told her, “Deep inside my heart, I know there is no justification for an abortion.”

Ralph glared at me. He said, “She thinks she is carrying a baby and not just a blob of cells.” The counselor assured me that my baby was “just a pinhead.” Both she and my husband argued with me. She said, “You can do this. You don’t have to want it or like it. It’s best to make this sacrifice for the well-being of your two boys.” My husband begged me, “Please do it!”… “Wouldn’t you remove a tumor?” She said. As she shoved the papers at me to sign, she told me, “You can stop the abortion at any time.”
When it was time to go into the operating room, I crouched down outside the door and whimpered, “I can’t do this.” Two smiling women, one on each side of me, lifted me up and pushed me into the room. The doctor was upset with me because I was crying. Many times, I told him, “I don’t want to. I don’t want to!”…

They gave her anesthesia, knocked her out, and did the abortion.

“That night when my crying kept Ralph awake, he yelled at me, “What’s wrong with you? We got rid of the problem!” The next morning, after a night without sleep, I urged Ralph to look on the Internet for what happened to women after an abortion.
He searched WebMD and found only one article. He showed it to me and pointed to one sentence: “Most women do not regret abortion.” He grinned knowingly and said, “You see? You’re crazy, you’re creating this problem. You’ll be okay.” I cried.”

Barbara Horak Real Abortion Stories: The Hurting and the Healing (El Paso, Texas: Strive for the Best Publishing, 2007)

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A woman on a feminist blog wrote about having an abortion because she and her partner had no money. She claims that she went to a crisis pregnancy center and they did not offer her material or financial support, which seems unusual since most CPCs are stocked with baby items and supplies. She says:

“We wanted to have a baby. By the time I made my decision and accepted my mother’s money to terminate the pregnancy, I was very attached to the pregnancy. I dreamed every night about nursing and rocking my baby in a warm living-room, moonlight streaming through the curtains. I dreamed about a beautiful natural birth attended by a midwife. I dreamed about falling in love with my baby and being a wonderful mother. My partner fell asleep every night with his hand over my womb, and I knew it was what he wanted, too. But that wasn’t the course that was set out
for us.

At nine weeks, I had my abortion. Because everyone knows I’m pro-choice, none of my friends or family members– besides my partner– seemed to understand my agony. I was horribly depressed for several months. I bled a lot. I couldn’t have sex for months because I was so traumatized by all of it….

I know that a lot of my fellow feminists would react rationally– it wasn’t the right time, we couldn’t afford a baby, we can always adopt, maybe we should look into IVF. But it’s not the same. I wanted the first embryo I conceived. We wanted to have a baby together…

Maybe regretting my aboriton isn’t the feminist thing to do. Maybe it’s not okay that I was attached to a clump of cells in the vague shape of an embyro. Maybe it’s not okay that the pain of abortion still hurts, four years layer. But it still hurts– feminist or not.”

The story’s writer claims “I am pro-choice. I will always be pro-choice. “

“My Abortion and Why I Regret It” Feministing 4/17/2010

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