Katerina, who had an abortion and suffered great emotional pain afterward:
“The lady who met me there [at the local Family Planning Service] treated me as rudely as anyone could treat someone; there was no caring or concern in her manner. No options were presented to me. She said I was stupid to get pregnant and as I was 18 and at university she “presumed I wanted an abortion.” I remember asking about the difference between local and general anesthetic and she said, “Have [a] local as then you will know what has happened and never make this mistake again.” Her negative and unsupportive attitude is something I will always remember. I asked her at the time about other options, and she said, “Do you want to finish Uni?” I… I don’t remember making the decision, just that this is what I was expected to do; from the little information I had been told it seemed there would be no support and no future for me if I was to have the child…”
Melinda Tankard Reist Giving Sorrow Words: Women’s Stories of Grief after Abortion (Springfield, IL: Acorn Books, 2007) 32
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