Tuesday, September 11, 2007

'Don't look,' said the midwife
UPDATED: Daily Mail censors own story



[UPDATE, 9/12/07, 11:00 a.m.: Bizarrely, the excerpt I quote below from a Daily Mail story that went online last night, in which a woman graphically describes her abortion has since been removed from the online version of the story — along with the rest of the woman's interview.

Click the image above to read the interview with Ashleigh Taylor (the woman pictured at left) that the Daily Mail has mysteriously censored from the online article. Thanks to Matthew Balan and Ken Shepherd of NewsBusters for the scan.]

Tomorrow's Daily Mail features the harrowing article "What WE think of abortion - by the women who had them..." With the exception of the final interviewee, a pro-choice activist who gives no details of her abortion procedure, all the interviews — even the ones with women who do not regret their abortions — reveal severely damaged lives.

From the paper's interview with 22-year-old woman who aborted her child three years ago:
By the time I had the abortion, I was 15 weeks and two days pregnant. I went into hospital with my best friend for moral support, and the nurse gave me tablets to bring on labour. Because I was so far into the pregnancy, I had to give birth rather than have a straightforward abortion.

It was horrendous. After two hours the contractions started, and I clung onto the hand of the midwife. Once I felt the baby starting to come, I had to go into the toilet and let it drop onto a stainless steel tray.

"Don't look," said the midwife. "Keep your eyes straight in front of you and walk away immediately." There was no way I could have looked down and seen my baby. I was numb.

By then I was bleeding heavily, but I was allowed to go home. I went straight to bed and told my mum I had a very heavy period. For two days I lay in bed, shocked and exhausted, but I still I knew I had done the right thing.

Three months later, I started university. I coped by just blanking the abortion out. I would make the same decision again, but it has affected my life. I am paranoid about getting pregnant, and haven't had a successful relationship since.
If you or a friend have had an abortion and seek healing, the After Abortion site offers a guide to getting help.