Category: Women’s Stories of Abortion Counseling

Victoria, who compiled a book of women’s stories about about abortion, wrote:

“I telephoned the clinic and was told by the clinic that because I was so early in my pregnancy, I wasn’t carrying a “real” baby. Her exact words were, “it’s just a blob of cells. “It” hasn’t formed into a human being.”

The woman on the other end insisted that I have the “procedure” performed right away, the sooner, the better. She always referred to it as the “procedure” never mentioning the word abortion. She said I was only “terminating a pregnancy.

She instructed me to bring cash only to my visit. Checks or credit cards were not accepted.”

At the clinic:

“When my fictitious name was called, I quickly got up and went into the first of three rooms. This was the office of the cashier. She sat me down, shut the door and matter-of-factly asked, “You have your money with you?… I need the full $350, cash only, as I told you over the phone. Remember, if you change your mind while you’re on the table, you don’t get your money back. There are no refunds here. Do you understand this? I nodded again…

I asked again, “Should I really do this?” She seemed nervous. Maybe I was about to change my mind and she wouldn’t make her “quota” for the day.

I guess she wanted to reassure me when she said, “Look, when you leave this place, never think of this day again. Just forget about it. You’ll be fine and you can always have more babies later. You’re too early in your pregnancy to even think of this as a real pregnancy, let alone a real baby. Remember and never forget, we’re only terminating a pregnancy.”…

It was obvious she’d done this before. Her “speech” was so rehearsed…

They asked me not to speak to any of the other women. It might be too uncomfortable for them… We were all sharing the same fate, yet none of us could even look at one another.”

Victoria Koloff They Lied to Us (Worldcomm: 2011) 11 – 13

Kathryn Bretz tells the story of her abortion:

“I specifically asked if this was a baby and was told ‘No, it’s a formless blob of tissue.’ No one told me that this was a tiny baby who would be ripped apart. I was not informed of potential negative physical, psychological and spiritual consequences. The brochure stated that many women experience relief, without any consequences and it also stated ‘there may be a BRIEF period of sadness’. . . . The abortion has impacted my life negatively the day it happened and every day since for almost 30 years with unmanageable and powerful emotions of guilt, sorrow and raw pain. I developed a migraine disorder that has consumed my life, destroyed my career and finances. My inconsolable crying over the loss of my child, and knowing I was complicit in his death has caused deep, traumatic and overwhelming pain that can trigger a migraine. I’ve ended up at the ER with runaway migraine pain, with no painkilling drug that exists in medical science to assuage my misery. For a month after, my body was wracked in pain and it seemed like continuous labor. I expelled large chunks of endometrium and what looked like fetal tissue.”

AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF 3,348 WOMEN INJURED BY ABORTION AND THE JUSTICE FOUNDATION IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS FOR AFFIRMANCE

WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH, et al., Petitioners, v. JOHN HELLERSTEDT, M.D., COMMISSIONER, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES, et al., Respondents.

Looking back on her abortion, one woman said:

“Had I been counseled properly concerning the pain and the development of my unborn child, I doubt that I would’ve chosen abortion. I was not forewarned of the health risks or the deep psychological aftereffects of abortion. As a bright college graduate, I had a promising future ahead of me. Following my abortion, I became deeply depressed, suicidal, and unable to hold a job. I never mourned the loss of my appendix, so why did I grieve over the passing of an enigmatic uterine blob? The answer is that it wasn’t a mere “blob of tissue.” It was a living baby. I realized at the moment I saw his dismembered body. I realized it too late.”

Susan Neiburg Terkel Abortion: Facing the Issues (New York: Franklin Watts, 1988) 37

A woman who went to an abortion clinic to abort her baby tells her story:

“I took a good friend with me, as well as my boyfriend. It was a three hour drive to Houston and no one said much. As we neared the abortion facility protesters with large, grotesque signs came into view. I averted my eyes. I had a sick feeling as I sought to push away the reality of what I was about to do.

Once in the facility, I checked in and my boyfriend and friend sat down with magazines….

There were so many women there of every age, race, and seemingly socio-economic class. We were grouped together as we made our way through the process. At one point, I was given an ultrasound, and the tech matter-of-factly declared, “5 weeks.” Then it was on to group “counseling.” A young woman explained the process and then opened the floor to questions. I knew the answer to mine before I even asked, “Is it alive?” The response was, “It’s a clump of villi.” It was what I wanted and needed to hear, but I knew better.

Then it was back to the waiting room where we all sat until we were called, one by one, to do the actual procedure. I was struck by the tea party like atmosphere. Most women chatted seemingly nonchalantly. At one point, a woman tapped her foot impatiently, glanced at her watch and said, “How long is this going to take, I have stuff to do.” I was shocked, and wondered to myself, “Does she not have any idea of the significance of what she’s about to do?” A pretty brunette suddenly offered, “My husband keeps saying we’re going out tonight. He just doesn’t get it.” She told us she was 13 weeks pregnant and had a three year old daughter. Again, all I could think was, “You’re married with a child, why are you here?”

I found myself talking to a woman to next to me. At 38, she was older than most of us. Inexplicably, I began trying to convince her that she could do it, raise her baby. She gave me all the reasons why she couldn’t.

Out of all of us present in our group that day, there was only one woman who, in my view, was having the appropriate response. She never stopped crying, never made eye contact with anyone, never spoke. She just sat there, curled up in a fetal position, as she stared off into space, and wept.

One by one we were called. I sat there, stomach churning, knowing in my heart of hearts that this was SO wrong. I had not been able to quiet that inner voice that kept gently telling me, “No, you must not do this.” I argued back and forth with that voice. It was so gentle, so serene, but also very persistent. My name was called. I got up and made my way to the table. “Take everything off below the waist and lay on the table, feet in the stirrups.” I reached for my pants.

I hesitated. I stood frozen. The nurse noticed my reaction and advised me to go back to the waiting room and let a few more go ahead of me, until I felt more ready. Ready never came. When I was called a second time, the same thing happened. The nurse looked at me and said, “You don’t really want to be here.” I replied, “Does anybody really want to be here?”

She told me I was early and had lots of time to come back. Plenty of time. I knew I was walking out of that place and NEVER going back.”

“22 years ago, my daughter survived her abortion appointment” Live Action News September 1, 2017