Wellness
5 People Share What Taking Abortion Pills Really Felt Like for Them
Published
1 year agoon
By
James White
I think the pills are so incredibly important as an option for abortion. But I hope people know it isn’t a 1-to-1 substitution. Abortion pills can be very painful, and I feel I wasn’t properly warned about how sick I could get. I thought I could just chill out and cramp it out, but it wasn’t like that at all. I needed support and care, which was luckily available to me.”
Alina, 26, she/her
“When I found out I was pregnant, I was researching my options, and the medication abortion just seemed a little bit more accessible and easier for me. I liked the idea of being comfortable at home. I wanted to hear about other people’s experiences with medication abortions, but there wasn’t that much available out there (that I could find, at least); I was lucky to have a supportive partner who was able to take care of me, but truthfully, it was a difficult and painful experience in a lot of ways—until the next morning, when I was just tired.
I went through Planned Parenthood, and while they do great work, they also gave me a phone number to call if I experienced any worrisome complications, and then it turned out that number wasn’t connected. Honestly, I wish there was a resource I could have called upon in order to explore my surgical options a little bit more.”
Amy, 28, she/her
“I guess I could have had a surgical abortion. I didn’t even think about that. I think there’s a lot of stigma about the process, but to me, the medication option seemed like what you do earlier in the pregnancy, whereas the [procedure] seemed far more invasive. I’m really vehemently pro-abortion, and my experience is part of that; when I realized I was pregnant, I didn’t tell the person who was the other half of the equation. I knew that it would be potentially a situation where our views differed, so I was like, I’m not sharing this information. I felt really ill, though, because it’s not easy to be pregnant, right? I remember feeling so tired and unable to go running, and even eight weeks along, you can feel the pregnancy progressing and growing. I had this horrible feeling of, you know, I don’t want to be pregnant.
When I went to the clinic, I was so freaked out; I was like, oh my God, there are going to be picketing Christians throwing insults at me. Ultimately, though, there was nobody protesting. I remember the waiting being nerve-wracking because I had to come back to the clinic the next day. They ask you all these questions, and I remember them being like, with some trepidation, ‘Are you sure that this is what you have to do?’ I think they have to ask something like that, and I was so enthusiastic, like, maybe inappropriately enthusiastic for the level of gravity that was coming at me. The process of taking the medication was like a horrible, extremely bad period, but they do prepare you pretty well. I knew what to do, but I had no idea what my housemate would have thought was happening at the time.
Afterward, I remember immediately feeling so much lighter, so much safer, and so relieved and free. I think a lot of people have a grief experience, or they feel really torn about [having an abortion] or harmed by it, and I get that, but I think I had a very different experience. It was really painful, but in a way that a bad period is painful; in comparison to being pregnant and being fatigued and the pain of an actual pregnancy growing inside you, it was a no-brainer. It was such a relief to be like, I’m not forced into this situation anymore.”
These interviews have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. This article was originally published by Vogue.
Related:
Source: Self
Emirates embraces Easter onboard and in lounges
Bidens announce theme for Easter Egg Roll on White House lawn
What to know about the cargo ship Dali, the ocean monster that took down a Baltimore bridge
Tunnel to Towers will pay off NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s mortgage on Long Island home
Türkiye’s initiative succeeds in adding Gaza to UNESCO reports
Baltimore Lost More Than a Bridge
King Charles Is ‘Utterly Determined’ to Show Unity Among the Royal Family Amid Health Battles
Living with an anti-reunification North Korea – Asia Times
Los Angeles Theatre Week Provides Access to Affordable Productions
Thousands of phones and routers swept into proxy service, unbeknownst to users
AWOL’s Latest Projector (and Its Price) Are Borderline Blinding
Steward Health Care strikes deal to sell its nationwide physician network to Optum
A First Look at Samsung’s 2024 TV Lineup
Kate Middleton Had ‘Very Difficult, Different’ Cancer Conversations With 3 Children Says King Charles’ Former Butler
US debates while China implements Cyber Force concept – Asia Times
Trending
-
Auto23 hours ago
The Kia K4 Hatchback Is Coming to the US
-
Travel24 hours ago
Melbourne to Hear the Roar of British & Irish Lions in 2025
-
Travel20 hours ago
Hotel development across Africa.
-
Auto17 hours ago
The 670-HP Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid Costs $192,995
-
Auto23 hours ago
Desperate Fisker Drops Ocean Base Price to $24,999 in an Attempt to Survive
-
Tech14 hours ago
Thousands of servers hacked in ongoing attack targeting Ray AI framework
-
Travel17 hours ago
The Toll Road Companion: Mautgebühren’s Contribution to European Roads
-
Auto24 hours ago
The New Kia K4 Is Bigger Than the Forte and Has Two Engine Options