I am a woman about to turn 50, and had my abortion about 25 years ago, and never regretted it. I was involved with a man who had 4 children already and did not want more. I have always been independent and since I was a young child, felt no pull to babies and small children, and no desire for the responsibilities of motherhood. As a young girl, I never played with dolls and did not even want them in my room; I was embarrassed by them and wanted only to play adventure games which let me be free.
I knew the date I got pregnant as I was careless with my birth control method on that date. I was horrified and knew immediately that abortion was the only answer. Not only did I not want a baby myself, I have always had a horror of pregnancy and childbirth, and did not want to go through the process. Prior to the abortion, I found that I was feeling unwell all the time. I never had nausea, but every morning I’d have stomach cramps, followed by a bout of diarrhea, and a pain in my lower abdomen that was with me constantly.
I made the arrangements and my boyfriend took me to the clinic and supported me in my decision. I remember waking up from the anesthesia and feeling grateful, because finally that pain was gone and I felt normal again. Perhaps there was something wrong with the pregnancy, but aside from not wanting children, the discomfort I had convinced me to never risk repeating the experience. I’m now childfree and have no regrets!
Right to choose is a powerful issue for me – and I feel fortunate that as I begin to enter the menopause years, that I have had the freedom to choose for my entire reproductive lifetime. I can only hope that this freedom will not be taken away from women in the future. I know if they had made it illegal during my fertile years I’d now be singing “Oh, Canada…”
