I am in virginia. In dec 2007 I became pregnant after a condom burst and morning after pill failed. It was awful timing, and my marriage would not have survived if I had continued the pregnancy... So I made the decision to abort and try to save the life we had wanted for the existing children.
my first attempt at finding a clinic lead me to contact a clinic that said they offered free counselling and advice, pregnancy testing,, ultrasound etc. it turned out to be a pro-life funded centre and had me in tears, but it didn't change my mind.
The next place I tried was full, I finally found a clinic and was told I couldn't be treated yet as it was too early! I knew at 4 weeks as we had been nervous after the condom incident, so I took a test at the firat opportunity. apparently the clinic refused to give out the abortion pill until 6 weeks as there is no heartbeat till then so might not be a viable pregnancy.i would have thought most woman would prefer to take the pills as early as possible after a positive test, but this was not allowed. Instead I was given an appt. For two weeks later.
I had to go through my birthday and christmas knowing I was pregnant, knowing that this child would never celebrate a birthday, never open stockings with its siblings... I cried all the time, had morning sickness, such huge guilt... But my decision couldn't change.
On boxing day I finally went to the only clinic that would see me. I paid $400 for the experience. I waited in a room full of laughing,joking girls who were proud to be there 'my man is so fertile, he can't use a condom, he too big' were bandied about. A terrible eddie murphy film played.
I was made to undress completely and wear a tiny backless gown. Pee on a stick and walk to the counselling... Which consisted of a woman behind a desk telling me to sign there, there and there to swear that I was doing this voluntarily and that I would return within 10 days to ensure termination was complete... She explained that it was a legal obligation to return and that if for aome reason my abortion failed, they had the right to terminate it and it would not be allowed to continue.
After this I had to have a transvaginal ultrasound. HAD to. No ultrasound, no pills. I was made to believe this was law and unavoidable. I only found out recently that it wasn't and so I was shocked that I had been stripped and violated like that unneccessarily. I was sobbing as they did it, it was utterly humiliating and cruel. I was made to see my baby, hear the heartbeat, be told I w as 6 weeks 4 days. Even though logically I knew my baby had neither nervous system to feel pain nor a functioning brain so no sense of self, it was still heartbreaking. It was made all to clear in that cubicle that I was a child murderer, even whilst they pretended it was all clinical.
Meeting the dr was the only good bit; he truly vared and took time to understand my situation as he was unable to give me the pills until he was convinced i wanted them. Since I was crying and distraught it was very hard to convince rhem I was there of my own accord.
they printed a photo of my ultrasound and put it in a file. I asked for a copy and was refused. It was clear I was not allowed to grieve for this potential child, I cannot imagine them refusing the photo to someone that miscarried naturally.
So that was my experience. I found it traumatising and I would never, ever go through it again. it could have been so much less painful by allowing the poas to be proof enough and allowing the pills immediately. Those two weeks were unbearably cruel... I spent every bathtime stroking my tummy and apologising to the child I could never have. The american authorities do not want it to be less painful... They want to make it worse. It is really twisted and upsetting as they are alao trying to make birth control less available too. Incidentally, at my follow up appt. I asked to be fitted with the mirena coil so it could never happen again. It cost me $500. Six months later I was pregnant again, the mirena having failed. Luckily by then my marriage issues were worked out and life was good enough to accept that surprise baby, because no way could I have gone through another usa abortion.