Ottawa Abortion Clinic Story

Linda felt uneasy from the start. She knew that after she had paid her fee for an abortion, the clinic staff would not try to help her make the best choice. Linda quickly realized that these clinics were businesses out to make money.

After the fee was paid, the information session began. Linda was struck with the irony that throughout all the videos and explanations the word "abortion" was never mentioned. The whole procedure was painted as a quick and easy solution to a problem. After the procedure took place, you could just walk out the doors and just carry on as if nothing had happened. Linda’s main motivation for having an abortion was the fear of becoming a parent. Today, Linda tells young women that parenting does not start after the baby is born but while the baby is in the womb.

Linda’s initial uneasiness grew as the abortion preparations were being made. The counsellor tried to calm Linda down, not out of a desire to help, but rather to get the consent form signed and for the abortion to be started. Afterwards Linda said, "I was never asked if I wanted to change my mind. The fact is, I wanted to leave, but I thought I was already in too deep that it was just too late to back out."

The doctor and another nurse came into the room and they brought the machine with them. As the doctor began to insert the tubes, Linda lay on the table and cried. Nobody asked her what was wrong, or if she wanted to change her mind. Linda had never felt so alone.

When the machine was turned on Linda felt the pressure inside her as the abortion started. Linda described the abortion this way, "I'll never forget the way that it felt: I sensed that my baby was clinging to me, trying to stay in that safe place that it had come to know. But in the end, the machine won and I could feel the baby being pulled from inside me."

The doctor coached Linda along as if he were delivering a baby. When it was over, the doctor left the room to piece the baby back together; he had to be sure he'd gotten all of it. The nurse cleaned Linda up because of the heavy bleeding. The nurse told Linda that she could get dressed and leave whenever she felt ready.

Linda was left alone in the room, crying and shaking all over. Since that horrific event, Linda tells women about the emotional toll. "I cried because I felt so empty inside and I knew I had done a terrible thing. The baby that had been alive and was growing inside me was now torn to pieces and being put together in another room. I hated myself!"

Linda wonders about that baby all the time, whether it was a boy or a girl, and she cries because she will never know. Linda has advice for those who are thinking about an abortion. "I know you're probably afraid, and being pregnant seems like an insurmountable problem; but there are many groups and people near you, just waiting to help. This has been difficult for me to write; but I'm doing it because I don't want you to suffer as I have. Please talk to someone about this. I really wish that I had..."

Note from AbortionClinics.ca – If you have a story from your experience in any of the Ottawa Abortion Clinics and you would like to share it you can submit your story here