Choosing abortion is the greatest regret of my life

Abortion solved one problem for me, but created many more which I did not know about and never chose.

After my abortion, I suffered years of regret, depression and anxiety and struggled to connect with my children when I later gave birth.

How was that a choice, or freedom? I deserved to be given all the options. I was frightened and uninformed and needed restrictions on my ability to make such a life- altering decision without first considering the impact it could have on me and those around me.

I was not given the dignity of a genuinely informed choice, the freedom to look at all my options, or encouraged to think for myself. Instead, it was essentially decided for me that abortion was the best and simplest, the only choice I had. And it is a dangerous world when only one choice is given.

Choosing abortion is the greatest regret of my life and the most damaging decision I have ever made.

The recently passed Queensland Labor Government’s Termination of Pregnancy Act utterly ignores my pain and regret and that of the tens of thousands of women like me. The Government has decided that abortion is the best option for unplanned pregnancies, and through this legislation is making every effort to make abortion easy for any woman at any time and for any reason.

Abortion is not an easy solution. Women need support to make an informed choice, and protection against being coerced into making a rushed decision at a time when they are vulnerable, just as I was, and without any idea of the consequences.

I named my baby later to acknowledge the child that I was still grieving for. I began to imagine the life she could have had only when I started to realise that my regret and loss was real, and not a hormonal response that would stop after several days, which is the only warning the pamphlet from the clinic gave me.

I have spent many nights in tears and many days wondering what life would be like with her in the mix of my kids today.

It is my hope that future governments will enact legislation and implement policies that protect the rights of both the woman and her unborn child. Because both lives matter.