By Elesha George
As news of a legal challenge against Antigua and Barbuda’s anti-abortion laws gains momentum, several women have come forward to share their personal experiences and reasons for having illegal abortions. Their stories highlight the complex and deeply personal nature of the decision to terminate a pregnancy.
One woman, who was attending university, found herself in a financial and emotional bind. “We were broke. I was going to university and the father didn’t want the responsibility of having a family at that time,” she shared.
She said she didn’t know what to really expect when she took an over-the-counter pill that was purported to terminate the pregnancy. She said it started off with basic period symptoms, backaches and cramps but as the process continued, “the pain was unreal. I thought I was dying as well. I cried and bled and screamed for four days.”
Still, she said she doesn’t regret her decision, and although she thinks of her baby all the time, it was the right decision for the both of them.
Another woman said she was young and simply not ready to have a baby. “In addition, for the almost 10 weeks that I was pregnant, I became a shell of myself and it wasn’t because I didn’t want to be pregnant. A symptom I had was depression and it was the worst thing ever.”
Consulting her partner did not bring much reprieve since he was against it. ”When I told him I was thinking of having an abortion, he blew up, calling me all sort of names which made me ultimately realize that he wasn’t the type of man I wanted to have a child with.”
Scared, and having waited until the very last week possible to think about her decision, she did it anyway.
“I bought pills under the table at a pharmacy for between $300 and $400 dollars. I had to insert the pills deep into my vagina and lay and wait for them to work,” she explained.
“After a few hours it seems like my water broke because water came gushing down, and all of a sudden, I felt like I needed to use the bathroom. As I sat on the toilet a red blob the size of my hand fell into the toilet. I bled for days after.”
She too did not regret her decision, arguing that if at 10 weeks the pregnancy had such a toll on her mentally, it was unimaginable what could have happened in 9 months, concluding that “It was the best decision I ever made in my life.”
A woman who said her partner was ready for a baby, shared that she ultimately made the decision to terminate the pregnancy because she knew that she wasn’t ready for it, mentally nor financially.
The process was extremely painful and the first insertion of pills did not work, so I had to see the doctor a second time … so, “I would advise young women to take their birth control.”
One of the last women who spoke with our newsroom said she did regret having an abortion, and at the time she was too scared to tell her parents, never mind that she felt that they wouldn’t care.
Meanwhile, residents have mixed views about the campaign and the constitutional challenge against the country’s anti-abortion laws.
“Abortion is not a right,” some men said plainly.
“It come like a murda same way. So, when the woman dem do their abortion, them fi get charge fi it,” another male passerby told our newsroom.
Yet another man said that, “It’s better to use protection than to throw away a life,” and concluding that both partners should make better decisions before being intimate.
“It should not be legal,” one woman chimed in, saying that her concern is that the practice would become too wide spread.
The majority of the women, those who actually have to make the decision on whether or not to keep their babies, have vastly different views.
“I think it should be legal. The reason I’m saying so is because it is a woman’s right. Also, because if it is a circumstance where a woman has gotten raped, or it might be a medical issue and she has to terminate the pregnancy, then I can see the reason why that person would want to do it.”
One woman who spoke on the situation of rape said she would not birth the baby because it would traumatize her, having to keep and care for the baby of a man who raped her. “You not going to love that child as you would the child conceived when you went and lie down with somebody that you love.”
Some believe that it should be a personal choice and the government should not have the right to dictate what a woman does with her body. They also agree that fathers should be involved in the decision-making, though ultimately, the decision is the woman’s to make.
The scope of reasons why a woman and their partner would want to have an abortion can be broad and personalised based on individual situations.
The problem that exists in Antigua and Barbuda is that the laws which cover the crime of infanticide, makes the act completely illegal. The legislation addresses attempts to procure abortion, procuring drugs to cause abortion, and concealing the birth of a child.
A woman found guilty of these offences commits a felony, and upon conviction can be imprisoned for any term not exceeding 10 years, with or without hard labour.
Nevertheless, it is well known that local doctors who perform illegal abortions use a medication called Misoprostol, usually with the brand Cytotec. It is a legal pharmaceutical which should be used to induce labour in pregnant women.
But a number of medical sources told Observer that over the years it has been used a lot for abortions and is one of the main methods used in modern times. The pill can be purchased discreetly over the counter at a pharmacy.
A survey conducted by our newsroom in 2020, proved that the pill could be easily acquired over the counter and was preferred over ‘traditional’ abortion techniques, like drinking hot Guinness, a hot Pepsi mixed with rust, or a dangerous cocktail of organic roots that are meant to end an unwanted pregnancy.
The pill costing between $350-$400 is seen as affordable, and a discreet means of termination. And although it comes with the risk of imprisonment, excessive bleeding, immense pain, and potentially can lead to death, many women across Antigua and Barbuda want the right to choose.
The campaigners including doctors, served the Attorney General’s Office with legal papers on Monday. Gynecologist Dr Dane Abbott is confident that this legal challenge will be successful in the courts.
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