Abortion care, interrupted.

‘I had a medical abortion at 10 weeks, about a month ago. Two weeks after the treatment began, I called my doctor and told her the pregnancy test had 2 faint lines. The doctor told me this was normal after a heavy bleed and that everything was fine. I had a hospital appointment for something else today and they told me I am nearly 14 weeks pregnant. I called my doctor, she said termination is illegal in Ireland after 12 weeks. I reminded her that I started this treatment at 10 weeks.  She said the pills must have failed, that they could not help me and that I would have to have this baby. I don’t want another child and I can’t afford to travel; I really don’t know what to do. Please could somebody give me a call?’- Cara, Ireland.

Cara was desperate. To complete her abortion, to understand what ‘teratogenic’ meant for her, to understand what her options were, to understand why her medical care was being interrupted mid-treatment not because of a health need, but because of the law.

At Abortion Support Network we hear from people like Cara too often. People whose access to medication and whose rights to bodily autonomy are curtailed by their own governments. People who are faced with impossible choices because of arbitrary restrictive legislation.

Improved access to telemedicine has been a game changer for women and gender expansive people who need abortions. Being able to order pills via a private clinic, a health service or through feminist global powerhouses Women Help Women and Women on Web, and have a community supported abortion, has significantly improved the health and wellbeing of pregnant people. Early medical abortion (EMA), or abortion by pills, is safe and extremely effective, but, like most medication, it is not one hundred percent guaranteed. Two percent of EMAs are not successful, and ongoing treatment is required to complete the termination. However restrictive and limiting interpretations of time limits (‘gestational limits’) on abortion care mean that for many this treatment is interrupted. Cara’s voice note above captures the impossible situation this puts pregnant people in.

In the last four years we have heard from 13 women and pregnant people in Ireland who had accessed EMA via their GP only to find it had not worked. They were between 14 and 20 weeks pregnant, and had each been told the medical treatment they had begun in Ireland would not be continued. Some of the people we spoke to in this situation did not feel able to make the journey to England to access legal abortion care, like Susie who knew her abusive partner would stop her from travelling. Some, like Cara, were very concerned about the impact of the medication on the growing foetus if they were to continue the pregnancy. Some like Mary had their plates full already and couldn’t fathom how to manage travel for care. Mary had discovered her EMA had not worked when she was being assessed for reconstructive surgery after a two year long journey of cancer treatment. She was devastated to learn of the continuing pregnancy as she was desperate to close this chapter on her life and enjoy time with her growing children. Instead, Mary was faced with an unexpected and complicated journey abroad and financial pressure that her young family could not sustain after two years of illness.

We supported these13 women and pregnant people to access the care they needed, whether it was abortion care in England, or support with a continued pregnancy in Ireland. Open 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, our abortion support helpline is powered by volunteers; people who give their time to supporting other people to access abortion care abroad. Our helpline offers non-judgemental listening, information on rights and access pathways, support with the logistics of travel and financial support where people need it via our mutual aid fund.

For as long as abortion is restricted, women and gender expansive folk will continue to have to fight for the rights others take for granted- including the right to choose what happens to our own bodies, and to access health care without stigma, fear or criminalisation. For as long as abortion is restricted, our helpline, and the work of helplines and abortion funds like ours around the world, will be needed to ensure women and gender expansive folk have genuine choice, meaningful autonomy and loving support from a committed community of donors, volunteers and staff.

Thank you for all the support. Feel free to check up on me at anytime. I’m so glad I found you and got help, especially at a difficult time I was really supported and comforted.  Thank you- I couldn’t have done this without you. – Cara, Ireland.

*The quotes and stories are from our work on the helpline. Identifying details has been changed to honour anonymity.

Camille Kumar is Managing Director of Abortion Support Network, a European abortion fund and UK based charity that has supported more than 11,300 abortion-seekers over 30 jurisdictions since 2009. Get Help. Donate.