The procedure was only discussed with her on the day she was due to be induced. She was told it would take only a few hours but it took three days. It was only when she was in labour that she was told the baby might be stillborn or take a breath.
“I didn’t realise at 20 weeks I would be handed a little person,” Natalie says.
“The nurse said, ‘Do you want to look because it’s not that nice [due to the damage done during the induced labour]?’ They put clothes on her but didn’t wipe the blood off first ... A quick glimpse and they took her away.
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“A big part of the weight I carried was that we had to sign her life away … the burden you carry is too great.”
Natalie has since learnt more about her daughter’s diagnosis and discovered that children with the condition can survive and do well with the right care.
The Brack’s Government has done the right thing but needs to take it further. All women should have access to independent counselling and time to consider their options. The knee jerkers are those who oppose any change to business-as-usual for the abortion industry and any safeguards for women who feel forced into its hands.
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About the Author
Melinda Tankard Reist is a Canberra author, speaker, commentator and advocate with a special interest in issues affecting women and girls. Melinda is author of Giving Sorrow Words: Women's Stories of Grief after Abortion (Duffy & Snellgrove, 2000), Defiant Birth: Women Who Resist Medical Eugenics (Spinifex Press, 2006) and editor of Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls (Spinifex Press, 2009). Melinda is a founder of Collective Shout: for a world free of sexploitation (www.collectiveshout.org). Melinda blogs at www.melindatankardreist.com.
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