I Used the Abortion Pill at 11 Weeks, and the Hardest Part for Me Was Getting the Appointment
It was my junior year in college; I found out I was pregnant and immediately asked the doctor for resources for Planned Parenthood.
The doctor kept saying “Oh, are you sure? I have plenty of resources for parenting and adoption too and here are all these brochures.” I said, “No, I’m pretty sure abortion is what I want.”
When I called them, there was a long line of people in front of me on the phone; it took over an hour. Finally, I spoke to them and they explained the options: a medication abortion, sometimes called the “abortion pill,” or an in-office procedure. I didn’t know that there was more than one option. They started explaining what each option was, which options my insurance covered, and how much each cost, which was super helpful.
I ended up picking the pill because they said my insurance would cover part of it — I ended up paying $300 out of pocket — it was also something I could do at home. The only available time they had to fit me into their schedule was three or four weeks out, which was really nerve-wracking for me. I would be 11 weeks pregnant when I took the pill, and that was close to the cutoff for a medication abortion. That was the most stressful part of the entire thing, just not knowing if it was going to be possible or not. But they scheduled me for the week of Thanksgiving, which was actually perfect for me because I had an entire week off of school for Thanksgiving.
I felt like people wanted me to make a lot bigger deal out of it. Not certain people in particular, but society tells us to make terminating a pregnancy a bigger deal. I didn’t know how to react to that. To me, it’s just like a doctor’s appointment. I’m part Danish. My sister lived there for a while, and she’s the one who introduced me to Danish television. I watch it a lot, so I was familiar with the way Scandinavia handles abortion — there it’s just part of life.
When my appointment finally came, I went in, and they did an ultrasound. They explained a bunch of information about the pill, and they told me that state law mandated they detail every last possibility. I remember them saying, in reality, we’ve never had anybody experience any of these side affects with the pill.
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That first appointment was on a Tuesday, and they told me I would take one pill on Thursday at the clinic and then I would go home and wait about 12 hours or so and then take another one at home. They showed me diagrams of the mouth and where to put the pill — between the cheek and the gum in the back so it dissolves, you don’t swallow it or anything. That was something I didn’t expect either.
I live in Indiana, and in our state we have a waiting period between getting the instructions and when we can actually take the pill. So I couldn’t do it until Thursday. I came in on Thursday, and there were a bunch of protestors outside.
As I pulled into the parking lot, a guy came up to my car. He said, ‘Can I escort you into the clinic?’ I said, ‘Yes, thank you.’ So he escorted me into the clinic and then I went inside. He had one of those curly mustaches, and I will never forget his kindness. Inside, I waited for over an hour and then they called me back and the nurse explained everything to me again and asked if I had any questions. I said no. And she gave me the first pill and I took it. And then I took the little brown bag with the second one and more written information in it as well as a pain reliever for cramps later on.
As I left the appointment, I asked my escort how I could sign up to be an escort too. He gave me the information and I’ve been helping escort others since not long after my own abortion.
Then I went home and ate Thanksgiving dinner with some of my friends. I didn’t keep it a secret; all of my friends were super supportive. After dinner, I got home, I was alone, and I turned up the heat to 78 degrees and turned on Netflix and took the second pill. I took a really hot bath and went to bed. The pad I had at the time was not strong enough and everything bled through onto my sheets, which was annoying, but the next morning I was fine. I was able to drive up to see my parents for the Thanksgiving holiday; that day I had cramps and what felt like my period, but there was nothing that felt extra or out of the ordinary.
Now I’m married and hope to have a family, but I would prefer to adopt children. So my husband and I have been talking about adoption a lot. We know that’s what we’re going to do.
As told to Sheila Cosgrove Baylis
