To wish that going for a first trimester abortion was seen like have a tooth out?

[QueenArseClangers]

Without all the societal guilt and judgement heaped upon women?
I really wished it was viewed as a bog standard procedure, I’m sure women would feel a lot more in control of their reproductive health if it was.

...or take it more seriously than some and equally be judged/told it's nothing by those who feel differently

An abortion is ending a pregnancy and that should never been seen as nothing becuase it is something

It's something to you. That doesn't mean it has to be something for every woman and you cannot decide that it should be for them.

I absolutely agree with you OP.

Also, many people don’t seem to understand how the pill works. The chances are, if you take the pill, you will have conceived at some point - i.e a sperm will have fertilised an egg - but the pill prevents the fertilised egg from attaching to your womb and causes your body to expel it instead.

So, technically, you have had an early abortion.

• less!

YANBU - but you've just called the forced birthers out of their dungeons.

@dairyisclosed it was a barrier because I had to have 2 appointments when one would have sufficed. It was making the process harder to access.

I don't think anyone would argue that women shouldn't be free to do with their own body what they wish but it's offensive to tell women who ARE traumatised that a life changing decision is as nothingy as removing a tooth. If that's how the op feels, she has every right to but those who feel differently shouldn't be judged for it either

spartacus there is definitely middle ground (acres of it) between 'forced birthers' and people who liken an abortion to having a filling. Sorry OP definitely YABU imo.

I know where you're coming from.

I had an abortion several years ago and like other posters, it wasn't a big deal at all for me. It was very much the right decision to make for our whole family.

But it is still quite a taboo to talk about it and I didn't tell many people at the time.

A few years later I talk about it more openly. I recently mentioned it during a conversation with some other mums, in context about contraception and pregnancy and having more DC.

I'm glad I did. One of those mums recently fell accidentally pregnant and she told me about it and talked to me about it. I'm under no illusions that she's done this because we are great friends - rather that she knows I have been through it myself. I don't know if I helped but I like to think it made a little difference to her to know another mum had made the same decision and, it seems, both with relative confidence and ease.

Abortion conversations often get wrapped up in wider conversations about motherhood, contraception and 'recklessness. No, it's not the same as having a tooth out, but we should as women feel more able to talk about it.

YABU.

Having had both they are not comparable.

The OP isn't saying that those having an abortion should liken it to having a tooth out but that it should be easily accessible and without social judgement just like any other minor medical procedure.

I don't see how removing judgement associated with the procedure can do anything but benefit women.

For some women it's a huge deal. For some women it's nothing at all. I fall into the latter category.

I wish there was a range of narratives available for women so that some women could discuss their heartache, trauma, worries, guilt etc. but women, like me, were also free to be honest about what a non-event it was.

Can anyone provide evidence of women "using abortion as contraception"? Because I have lived a long and varied life and I have never come across anyone who has.

And yes, for some women the decision to have an abortion is a heavy and heartbreaking one. For many others it isn't. Making the procedure more accessible and talked about will not change that-why would it?

Iloveruby...Maybe she shouldn't have written exactly that as the title then if that's not what she's saying...

There will never be consensus on a thread like this because people come at the issue from such different perspectives and experiences.

YABU
I could never think like this and don’t want to because others think I should

The OP isn't saying that those having an abortion should liken it to having a tooth out

Umm, that is exactly what she is saying.

Having a termination wasn’t life changing for me. I rarely think about it. I agree there is far too much stigma attached.

”The OP isn't saying that those having an abortion should liken it to having a tooth out but that it should be easily accessible and without social judgement just like any other minor medical procedure.”

Thanks iloveruby. That’s exactly what I mean.

The number of women using abortion as a form of contraception is zero, because by definition contraception is something that prevents a pregnancy from occurring.

What a ridiculous OP.

You’ve just asked whether women who’ve had traumatic first trimester abortions (so NOT women who have had untroubled ones) should be viewed as though they’ve had a tooth removed?

Are you for real??

I have had a termination where I had mixed feelings, moments of indecision, many years and soul searching.
I’ve also had had the procedure where I felt completely different.

Doesn’t make any difference to how I want abortion to be viewed as society.

No Plum. I want early termination to normalised as an accessible, straightforward option for women and girls who don’t want to be pregnant. None of the shame and implied secrecy that women have to face now.

Maybe you should have just written that as your title then