Talking about abortion
In this bit of the Chat, we talk about how you can talk about abortion. In the Questions children and young people ask section of The Chat we offer a response for 16-18-year-olds to the question:
What is abortion?
Abortion is a medical process of ending a pregnancy so that it doesn’t result in the birth of a baby. It can be carried out because it might be healthier, safer or the best option at the time for the woman. Sometimes it is called ‘termination of pregnancy’. The decision to have an abortion is not always easy and it can be a very emotional time for those involved. It’s a good idea for a young woman to talk about being pregnant with an adult they trust. They can think about the options they have. They can talk to their GP, someone at a young person’s clinic or at a specialist abortion counselling care and support service (ACCESS) clinic in their area. This is always confidential.
Talking about abortion may need go beyond such an answer. Here are a few more things that might be helpful to talk about together.
If you ever think you might be pregnant, or that a partner might be pregnant, come and speak to me, we can talk about it.
If an abortion is something you are thinking about, time really matters. The sooner the young woman comes to a Sexual Health clinic or goes to their GP to confirm they are pregnant and discuss what to do, the more options the pregnant young woman has. You can take your partner too, if that’s what you both want.
If a young woman decides to have an abortion this is what happens:
- The appointment to talk about an abortion and make a decision can last up to a maximum of 3 hours.
- There will be time to talk through the decision.
- They might do an ultrasound scan to confirm how many weeks pregnant she is.
- They will carry out some tests for STIs.
- Then a final decision is made to have the abortion or not and if yes, a consent form is signed. Then a date is set for the abortion.
- The doctor or nurse will want to chat about future contraception.
- After an abortion a person might want to talk more about it – if so in most places there is counselling support available.
How does an abortion happen?
You could talk through these important aspects of how an abortion happens.
There are Medical and Surgical abortions.
Most abortions are called Early Medical abortions; this mean taking pills at home to end the pregnancy.
Surgical and later Medical Abortions take place in a hospital. The woman would be asleep for a later surgical abortion when the doctor removes the content of the womb.
If the woman is under 16, she will always be admitted to hospital and will need a trusted adult to take her home. This will happen no matter how many weeks pregnant she is.
All of this is confidential.
It is also important to talk to your son about abortion
This could be in general terms, or if they find themselves in the position of a partner being pregnant and considering an abortion. You could talk about these things.
You know you can come and speak to me anytime, but just to say you can come speak to me if you ever think your partner might be pregnant.
The decision about having an abortion will affect both partners.
It is the woman who has the right to make the final decision about having an abortion.
If you find yourself in this situation you might want to speak about your feelings. A young man might disagree with his partner and need to talk about that.
So, please come and speak to me if you ever find yourself in this position of a partner being pregnant and thinking about what to do.
If you are supporting your 18-year-old child around the issue of abortion
At 18, it may be the case in your local area that they would move from young people’s services into adult sexual health services. You can still support them as they use services.
A more general point for young people to think about is how they can avoid unintended pregnancy
So, thinking about delaying sex and talk about condoms and contraception. There’s more on these topics in the Chat: Talking about: Pressures/Delaying or waiting for sex; Talking about: Contraception; Talking about: Condoms.
Let’s Talk about Abortion
YouTube
https://youtu.be/KksPuM5cokc
This short, animated film describes what happens when a young person goes to an NHS service to consider or have an abortion.
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