In Australia, abortion is legal in all states and territories except Western Australia, but there are still access issues. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the court case that interpreted the right to request an abortion protected by the country’s constitution, Guardian Australia has asked readers about its experience of access to abortion in Australia.
Readers shared their personal experiences of seeking to end pregnancy over the past decades. Their stories are complex, full of obstacles, elements of mourning and gratitude.
“It has taken me a long time to feel that I have a right to regret”
Amelia, 42, Melbourne
I agreed to a termination last year after confirming that my baby had trisomy 21. It was first collected at the 10-week NIPT (noninvasive prenatal testing) and then confirmed by CVS (chorionic villus sampling). We are older parents and we already have a child. I was able to access the termination service easily and without feeling any judgment from the staff. We made the decision to get the termination for several reasons, such as the impact on our family of a potentially deeply disabled child, the impact on our existing child, even when we could no longer care for a child. with disability, financial impacts and personal effects of being a caregiver essentially for the rest of my life. We also had little family support to help us with the extra stress and burden of our family. This was a planned pregnancy.
I had my termination around 13 weeks through a public hospital in Melbourne. From the moment of contact with the provider where we had the CVS to the hospital procedure, the staff was nothing more than compassionate and supportive.
This was a deep and difficult and very personal decision. I felt very grateful to be able to access not only the early diagnostic tests of pregnancy, but to be able to choose how we wanted to proceed open and accessible to us.
It would have felt absolutely intrusive for the state to have intervened and dictated what our path should be. We are the ones who made the child and we should take care of them for the rest of their lives, and quite possibly the rest of ours. But this decision has had profound and lasting effects on me and I don’t think anyone does it lightly. I think I will process the implications of this decision for the rest of my life. I don’t regret the choice we made, but it has changed me. It has taken me a long time to feel that I have a right to regret this termination as the loss of a child because it was my choice.
I can’t understand how the pain would get complicated and become much more traumatic if access to care and attention itself were filled with judgment and prejudice or if the pregnancy was the result of a rape. I am very grateful to live in a country where this is possible.
“At the time I was living on a government pension and I felt terribly judged.”
Georgina, 44, now lives in Germany
In 2013, while living as the single mother of a three-year-old boy in Melbourne, she had sex with a single man with no children. When I got pregnant, we talked about it and, after the conversation, I decided I would have an abortion. I saw my GP and found it to be an embarrassing experience. At that time I was living on a government pension and I felt terribly judged, which I didn’t need, as I was already being judged very harshly for my “mistake”. She, however, provided me with the necessary information and documentation and I called a clinic to schedule an appointment.
I went there alone by public transport and it took a long time as the clinic was out of town. The clinic staff was friendly and the procedure went smoothly. I had to pay about $ 300.
Back at my GP for a follow-up appointment, I was pressured to get a Mirena contraceptive.
Aside from travel time, I had no trouble accessing abortion and while the cost was quite significant when living with Centrelink payments, I was willing to pay.
It is never an easy decision for a woman, and she should have all possible support.
“My illegal experience was much less stressful than the legal one”
Fiona, 62, NSW
In 1978 I became pregnant from the first time I had sex at 18 years old. I went to the women’s hospital near the University of Melbourne and got a test. They asked me what my plans were and when I said I didn’t want to have a baby at the time, they sent me to a social worker / psychologist, and she asked me if having a baby would negatively affect my mental health. Since I was very angry with my boyfriend, constantly vomiting, I knew I wasn’t ready to be a father and with fear for my future, I said yes. At that time abortion was illegal, except in cases of medical necessity.
I went into a day surgery in a room where all the other women who had abortions were much older and already had children. One said she already had six children and that “this was the first break” she had had in years. It really made me aware that my stereotype of who needed an abortion at the time was far from reality.
I had no problem with access, no protesters or backtracking on what I wanted. My health insurance covered the procedure. I was scared that my parents would find out through the insurance records, but they didn’t. I was very lucky to have such a safe experience, especially considering how naive I was.
“I went on to operate for a day in a room where all the other women who had abortions were much older and already had children.” Photo: Glasshouse Images / Getty Images
I later had to have another abortion in Queensland, in 1999, due to a pregnancy where the fetus had a major genetic problem. In the meantime, he had had two much-loved children. That abortion was much more distressing because I would have liked another child. It was also confrontational because the clinic was in a secret location with no signage and there were threats of violence against staff.
Basically, my illegal experience was much less stressful than the subsequent legal one, due to the way the protests had escalated.
I was also sadder the second time because I wanted that third baby.
I don’t regret any of these casualties. If I hadn’t had the first one, I would never have married this guy and would have been a poorly prepared and ineffective father. Raising is a serious business and unwanted children should not be forced into the world.
“The doctor I went to just said, I can’t help you”
Janine, 41, Perth
When I was 34 I got pregnant about six months after leaving my abusive husband. I had two young children and had multiple autoimmune diseases, which made pregnancy very difficult. I hadn’t had unprotected sex either. My new partner was on dialysis and waiting for a kidney transplant and was also living with a bipolar disorder. I had moved to regional WA with a one-year contract to escape my ex-husband and support my two children.
I went to see a GP who charged in bulk because I was under strong financial pressure. The doctor I went to just said to me, “I can’t help you.” I tried to explain that the baby’s father was dying and that a pregnancy would probably kill me. He just repeated that he couldn’t help me. My sister found an online abortion clinic that I had an appointment to go to. I had to travel to the city for that.
I think the first doctor was religious, maybe that’s why he didn’t help me. But I was less than five weeks pregnant when I realized. If she had been able to access a local abortion she would not have had to go to the city site which, looking back, seemed dubious. She should have been able to get help when she needed it. But most of all, I don’t regret a second of my choice, because having a child at that time would have destroyed so many lives.
“I’m still sad about the loss, but I know it was the responsible decision”
Lyndy, 38, Brisbane
My first abortion was with my first boyfriend. She knew she was not ready to be a mother. I think getting my teeth out of common sense was worse.
My second miscarriage was with the man who is now my husband. Four months passed from our relationship and we weren’t sure if we would last or if we could afford to bring a child into the world. Trying to decide what to do was the worst week of my life. I woke up from the anesthesia crying and cried for months afterwards.
Now I look back and sometimes I’m still sad for the second, but still, I know it was the responsible decision. I have never regretted the first.
My second miscarriage with a loving, supportive partner at a clean, safe medical center where I knew I was safe was traumatic enough. I can’t imagine having to deal with the uncertainty about the safety of the actual procedure in addition to everything else.
“I just couldn’t take the risk”
Hannah, 40, Melbourne
I had a selective reduction after naturally conceiving three twins. The probability of them being born dead or born with birth defects was 50/50. By aborting two of the three (depending on the circumstances there had to be two) I increased the chances of the survivor by up to 90%. I currently have a happy and healthy child.
I had a private obstetrician who supported the decision and made the appointment with a specialist. It cost me $ 500 out of pocket.
No one makes these kinds of decisions lightly. Do I regret it? Of couse. But I would make the same decision 99 times out of 100. I just couldn’t take the risk. And in all honesty, we couldn’t afford to have three twins either. It would have ruined us financially.
“They thought he couldn’t consent because he was deaf”
Steph, 39, a capital city
When I needed an abortion in the late 2000s, I was told I could not consent to the procedure because I am a deaf person who uses Auslan. I had a referral to a major hospital for an abortion at their clinic. When I had the initial consultation with a doctor there they talked to me in a paternalistic way, then they told me …