HerRoyalHighness already told about her decision to keep the unplanned child, so I thought I'd share my experience of having an abortion. Before, I'd imagined it to be a gruesome and traumatising experinece, which it, for me, really wasn't at all...
Finding out I was pregnant When I found out I was pregnant (despite using contraception) I was shocked. I thought that was something that happened to others, and felt embarrassed bout being in the situation. I'd been putting off doing the pregnancy test for two and a half weeks; I'd been telling myself that my periods were just late due to the exam stress I'd been under. A week after the exams ended, I had to stop kidding myself...
The decision The decision was quite easy for me. 1. The situation wasn't right: I wasn't really serious with the guy who got me pregnant, and I was in the middle of my studies in a foreign country with a huge student loan and only vague plans about my own future. 2. I had nothing against abortion: I'm liberal and atheist so I didn't have moral issues with abortion. 3. The fact that during the time I hadn't known about the pregnancy I'd been drinking really heavily (the exams had just ended) also contributed to ruling adotion out.
At this stage I had't told anyone yet, so when I went to see a doctor I was really nervous. There were five people living in our flat at the time, one of whom was against abortion and an unplanned child of a teenage mother herself. Two were pro-choice but had said many times they wouldn't do it themsleves, and one (whom I later told) 100% pro-choice. I went to see a doctor at my uni, and felt so relieved after saying "I'm pregnant" out loud for the first time. I was quite upset and tearful but felt a lot better afterwards, and she referred me to a clinic.
The day of the abortion. I told my flatmate I was going to work, put on comfy clothes as I was advised and went to the clinic, Marie Stopes in central London. Everyone at the clinic was understanding and friendly and I really felt like they accepted my decision. You can have the abotion under general anaesthetic, conscious sedation or local anaesthetic. I decided to go for the local anaesthetic because of quicker recovery, which meant I was fully conscious and felt some pain during the operation. I cried during the operation, but there was a lovely nurse holding my hand and talking to me, the pain was bearable and the whole thing was over in a couple of minutes. I was taken to a recovery room with other girls who'd had an abortion earlier. When the painkillers kicked in twenty minutes later, all I was left feeling was relief. A massive burden was lifted off my shoulders, I felt extremely relieved and not guilty or sad at all, like women are often expected to feel.
Afterwards. Three months later, I certainly don't regret having an abortion. I don't talk about the abortion openly, I've only now told it to people who I know are liberal and 100% pro-choice. I don't want to have to explain myself to anyone, and I don't think I should have to... Abortion is still a taboo, and most people expect the woman to feel sorry, guilty or sad about it. Also, I feel a new sense of control over my life and know I can go through hard things by myself. The experience has also made me start to campaign for women's abortion rights in countries that don't have them.