“We, young people of all nations, in solidarity with one another, believe that every human being has intrinsic and inalienable dignity that begins at conception and extends to natural death. This dignity, the most precious endowment of the human person, is inviolable. The dignity of the human person must be cherished in custom and protected by law. We recognize, celebrate, and pledge ourselves to defend the intrinsic dignity of every human person.”
– World Youth Alliance Declaration on The Human Person
This article does not present an argument on the topic, rather it gives a brief insight on the physical and emotional experiences of a lady who had underwent the process of aborting a child. It hopes to bring awareness to the readers on the micro events of performing the act that are nothing but crucial to realizing the reality of the act. The writer wishes to remain anonymous for the sake of respect for the subject of the story, as this article is based on real events. Nevertheless, permission and, most importantly, support was given by the subject to writing and publishing this article.
The choice of a woman and the legality of the act has always taken the spotlight when it comes to discussions on abortion. I would like to offer you another perspective – the reality of the struggles a woman is subjected to as she undergoes the process of ending the life of a child, of her child.
A couple years back, my friend got pregnant. It was a pregnancy she was not expecting. At the moment she found out, she looked for a way to terminate it – and she found one. It was called the Pill. The pill is not actually singular, as it was a set of pills to be taken in an instructed and timely manner to ensure its effectiveness.
To this day, she can not emphasize enough how the effects of the pill were, and are, the most excruciatingly painful experience, physically and emotionally. It was “traumatic”.
She had narrated to me her experience back then, but she specifically wanted to send me a letter now as she did not want me to miss anything as I relay the horror she had gone through.
Her experience went like this.
Imagine having cramps ten times more painful than your average period, with a volume of blood requiring you to remain on the toilet as a normal pad could not hold the amount expelled by your body. Bleeding, throwing up, and defecating – all happening at the same time. Your head felt very light as though you were closer to passing out rather than regaining real time consciousness. The heavy chills made your body shake as the poison you have swallowed makes its way to your womb to end the life of the human being resting in its warmth, falsely waiting to mature and be born into the world to have his or her own life’s story.
And the emotions set in. The guilt was overwhelming to the point where she taught there was no way she could forgive herself. She punished herself. She vowed to never bring children into the world due to the possibilities of abnormalities through the long term effects of the pill. However, she admits that in reality, this vow was for a totally different and deeper reason – she had told herself she was unfit to become a mother. She had scolded herself – how dare I become a mother, she asks, when the chance of having a child was presented into my arms and without hesitation, I denied it?
Time heals everything they say but she knew that time can not bring back the life taken.Time can not eliminate the possibilities of having a child with disabilities in the future. Time can not bring back the tears that flowed from her eyes from the pain she had gone through. And time will never eliminate the fact that an abortion had taken place. For one thing, only time can bring about the acceptance of what has been done and time must bring about the resolve to not repeat what is regretted – a choice time provides, but the person must choose.
For her, time brought about the realization of her responsibility of spreading awareness to the ladies out there contemplating on being subject to the act – she calls on individuals who are at a crisis of making a choice of having an abortion to read her story and reflect on it, in the hopes that they decide to find other options which are actually focused on the mother’s and child’s health, and respect for the mother’s and child’s being.
[su_divider top=”no” size=”1″ margin=”10″]
Published on: Oct. 25, 2019
World Youth Alliance is a global movement of over 1 million young people who are committed to promoting the intrinsic and inviolable dignity of the person and building solidarity among the youth. Click here to get involved and become a member.
