Clinic worker: many women don’t tell

One clinic worker discusses how many women do not tell their partners, parents, or friends about their abortions, and come in for them alone:

“…While lots of women involve loved ones in their decision and some even bring partners, parents or friends to the clinic, lots of women don’t. For most of these women, I think its about self-preservation. They don’t tell because they expect their parents or partner to be unsupportive, perhaps even try to prevent them from having an abortion. I think the majority probably tell them later, when the fear that the unsupportive loved one can block their choice is gone. These women sometimes express guilt for not telling, but it strikes me as smart. It makes sense to call only on people one can expect support from. It only makes me mad that some women can’t rely on their closest family and friends to support them, no matter what.”

Lynne V. “What 1,000 Abortions Have Taught Me” Feminist Women’s Health Center http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/1000ab.htm

Women who hide their pregnancies from the very people who could help them find alternatives are forced to struggle with the terrible decision of abortion alone. This clinic worker is not the first to suggest that her patients considering abortion refrain from telling anyone who might encourage them to have the baby or offer practical, life-affirming help.