Choosing a method and a clinic
I am petrified of anything that has to do with hospitals, needles and medical staff and had my mind set on a medical abortion. To my great distress I came to find out that Australia has yet to offer medical abortions in early pregnancy. I had believed this country to be on the forefront of the developed world and was shocked to discover that only surgical abortions in specialized clinics are available upon referral from a doctor. Not only has the [male] politicians failed to do their duty to represent the people who elected them rather than pushing their own irrational beliefs by delaying the approval of RU486 but other medical termination alternatives are unavailable for unknown reasons. The fact that women still are being traumatised unnecessarily during the most vulnerable points of their lives, whether during pregnancy and child birth or pregnancy termination is, to say the least, appalling. Eventually I decided on a clinic that would do the procedure under local anaesthesia which I perceive to be the lesser of the evils.

The procedure
On arrival at the clinic I had to fill out the usual paperwork and soon thereafter I was called into a room to have the risks and benefits of the procedure explained to me [again]. Then I was taken to a changing room where I removed all clothing below the waist and put on a sarong type gown. The doctor came to answer any questions and again explain the procedure. Since I didn't want to be sedated the doctor said it would all be done without any anaesthesia at all. He assured me that the pain and discomfort would be minimal since I've already given birth 3 times. This surprised me a bit but since I had popped 3 Neurofen plus in anticipation of the pain from the local anaesthetic injections I thought it was worth giving it a go. Whilst I waited for the nurse to take me to theatre, I did some reflection and mentally released the bond with my unborn child.

In theatre a sonographer located the embryo and the doctor gaped open my vagina, wiped off my cervix and inserted a thin device through the cervix into my uterus. With the help of the ultrasound screen the device was guided to the embryo, placenta and related tissues and gently sucked out manually with a 'turkey basting' style syringe [Manual Vacuum aspiration]. The doctor explained exactly what was going on the whole time at my request. I felt no pain. 5 minutes later it was all done and I walked to a recovery area where my blood pressure and pulse were taken. Having already had 3 children I knew I wouldn't require the injection Rhesus negative women might need and I refused a blood test. After another 10 minutes I was dressed, in the car with my husband on the way home. From beginning to end I spent about one and a half hour at the clinic. There were protesters in the form of older women with images of the Madonna and embryos outside the clinic when I left. I found them rather pathetic and it didn't bother me at all.

Post abortion
Afterwards I felt relief and although I was tired from the stress I was also strangely energised and ready to go on with my life again. I wish I had known in advance that the medical staff would be respectful of most of my wishes and that the ordeal would be relatively free from psychological trauma and invasion of my person so that the anticipation could have been less upsetting. The bleeding has thus far been less than a normal period with the occasional cramp (4 days later). The nausea is gone but my breasts have a slight heaviness to them. Whilst it's not an experience I'd like to go through again, I feel certain that this sacrifice was worth it for my already born children as they can stay in the same neighbourhood and school with their old mates and they will still have at least a third of my undivided attention.