Abortion Advice..

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Hey guys.
I am new here.. and kinda oblivious to all guidelines etc, but i'll do my best..
I recently found out I am pregnant, and I was hoping that I could acquire some information from people with either experience or knowledge on the subject of under-age abortion.
To give a bit of background information, I live in NSW, Australia, and I am currently 15 years of age. I have no job, so no income, and no real access to a medicare card. Involving my parents is not an option in the slightest, so I would love more details on how to overcome that obstacle.
I have a few questions, so I would appreciate it immensely if I could get as many answers as possible.

1) What would the cost be? Is there any way I could have it reduced due to the fact I am under-age and going with no income.

2) What are, (in black and white) the steps i have to go through in order to have an abortion without my parents ever finding out?

3) Which procedure is more (in your opinion) more convenient for someone in my situation... vacuum or pill?

4) How long does the procedure normally take?

5) Would my boyfriend be allowed into the procedure and/or centre to help keep me company? keeping in mind we are both underage...

I have done as much research as I could, and I would just like these points clarified. Even if you cannot answer these questions properly... I would just love to hear anyone with experience... Anyone who has aborted and the feelings they felt before and after. At the moment, i'm not feeling so good...
Thank you

[Sin]

Hey there,

I wouldnt feel comfortable giving advice on how to have an abortion. Although i do believe you have the right to choose. I would seriously encourage you to talk to someone first before you make any decisions. Like a family planning clinic? Im not sure how it works where your from but where im from anything you say is confidential even though you are underage. They will talk you through your options and give advice. They wont judge you. I hope your okay and if you want to talk more then please pm me.
Sinead x

[Allons-y!]

Quick Google search showed me a few pages you might be interested in. I think, because your case is so specific, you might receive more information by calling a helpline. They can give you answers that they can promise are accurate--personally, because I don't know a lot about abortion and don't live in Australia, I would worry that the advice I gave you might be atypical to your situation. I'll try to ensure that everything I say is backed up by sources, but you should always check with the clinic to be completely sure.

This seems to be a really helpful site--they give information on procedures and cost, and they provide a confidential, free helpline. They also have a list of clinics that will provide abortions (and how far into your pregnancy they'll provide them for). All have telephone numbers, and I'm sure you could ring and ask them questions 1, 3, 4 and 5. Because the clinic you call will be the very clinic that will do the procedure, you can guarantee that they will be giving you the proper information.
http://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/nwww/abortion.htm

It says this about someone coming with you:

A partner or support person may accompany you into the clinic, and possibly attend the initial consultation with the counsellor (at your request) and will be contacted to pick you up when the procedure is complete. It is not usually possible for partners or support persons to accompany you throughout the medical examination and other medical procedures.

And about payment:

Payment for the cost of the abortion occurs before continuing through to surgery. Expect to pay between $300 and $800 within the first trimester of pregnancy (up to twelve weeks gestation), as prices vary from clinic to clinic. Some clinics also provide concessions for Pension or Healthcare Card holders. It will also be necessary to have a Medicare card at time of payment. Part of the cost of the abortion is billed to Medicare. If a Medicare card or number is not available, full payment will be requested.

This site http://www.abortionaccess.info/ may have more information you can use. It has a list of abortion clinics as well.

What I would do, is find a clinic near you and just give them a call or an email.

*hug*

[Dana]

Hi sweetie,

I'm sorry I don't know the best answers to your questions as I'm not familiar with the laws/procedures in your area. However, I've done the best I can to try and answer anyway. I agree that you should probably call up the clinic and ask them these questions first, as they will know the answers. Also, if you have not done so already, that would be the time to talk to them regarding options and advice. It wouldn't hurt to go there first in person and sit down and talk to someone.

1) What would the cost be? Is there any way I could have it reduced due to the fact I am under-age and going with no income. I think this depends on what type of abortion you need. I believe you can abort via pills if you are less than 6 weeks pregnant? If you are more than 6 weeks pregnant I believe you receive a shot (vacuum) 'down there' (this is the type of abortion one of my friends had, I believe it was $350 US?)

2) What are, (in black and white) the steps i have to go through in order to have an abortion without my parents ever finding out? I looked on the internet, apparently abortion laws in Australia vary by state. It said that most states do not require parental notification (except some in Western Australia). Assuming there is no law, all you would have to do is go to the clinic and not tell your parents.

3) Which procedure is more (in your opinion) more convenient for someone in my situation... vacuum or pill? I would say this depends on how far you are along. I would think the pill would be more convenient because you could take it at home but it does have some VERY nasty side effects that might cause your parents to be concerned for you. I hear that the vacuum is painful, but at least then it will be over and done with.

4) How long does the procedure normally take?The pills are taken over a couple days if I'm not mistaken... Vacuum is a couple of hours total (I actually think the procedure itself is 30 minutes, but I would set aside the whole day to recover at your own pace...).

5) Would my boyfriend be allowed into the procedure and/or centre to help keep me company? keeping in mind we are both underage...This depends on the clinic, but I would say probably, yes.

PM me if you need anything.

[dejaentendu0]

1) What would the cost be? Is there any way I could have it reduced due to the fact I am under-age and going with no income.

The cost honestly varies on where you go and whatnot. I live in Pennsylvania, so I'm not too certain on how it goes where you live, but I had an abortion on the 13th. Insurance can help you pay for it, if you have it. Mine wouldn't. I ended up paying $427, with only having my boyfriend's somewhat-decent job to be paying for it. However, a friend of mine had one that only cost her $100. If you go to someplace like Planned Parenthood, they typically offer a sliding scale fee that goes by your income and you can apply for assistance if you're low income. In order to get a ballpark figure of the cost, I would suggest calling around places that offer abortions and talk to them about it.

2) What are, (in black and white) the steps i have to go through in order to have an abortion without my parents ever finding out?

Again, I would call a place and ask them about this. I know in the US, you can get a judicial bypass for most states - what was what I was going to do at first. I'm not too sure that is able to be done in Australia though.. However, if it doesn't and you drive or know someone that drives, you could maybe find a state of Australia that allows it without consent and go there.
IF you can do judicial bypass: 1) You go down to the place to file a petition (call a abortion center to find out where to go). 2) They have to hold a meeting seven days after filing. You explain why you can't inform your parents, why you think this is the best decision, and that you HAVE thought about your options. If they think you're making the best choice, they'll typically grant it if your parents won't. After that, you get a paper that you take the clinic that takes place of your parent's needed paperwork.

3) Which procedure is more (in your opinion) more convenient for someone in my situation... vacuum or pill?

As already said, it definitely comes down to the person. Someone said something about the pill being only available until 6 weeks... I want to clarify: Some places only allow it up to 7 WEEKS. You CAN find a place that allows it up to 9 WEEKS though. I was 8 weeks and 3 days when I had mine. I, myself, choose the pill abortion. I thought it would be easier for me to feel more comfortable at home and I'm honestly TERRIFIED of needles and shots.. So, I picked the one that wouldn't have that. There are pros and cons to both though - so I suggest reading into both of them before deciding.
IF you don't want your parents to know, I wouldn't recommend the pill. If my mother hadn't of found out when she did, she would have been fully aware by the way I was acting. It's not the easiest thing to hide.
However, the abortion pill lasts longer. I took my second pill at noon and it didn't end until 7 PM, really. I had cramping afterwards for quite a few more days and bled for about two weeks. So, if you're looking to get it done and over with or don't think you can look at the tissues, then I suggest the in-clinic procedure. I also want to mention that the pill is about 98% effective, but if you end up being one of those 2%, you WILL be required to either take the second pill to try and get the remaining tissue out or do the in-clinic. I mean, everyone's experience with it is different, so I don't want to tell you to do one or the other.

4) How long does the procedure normally take?

The in-clinic takes about 5-10 minutes to actually do. Most places typically make you sit in a recovery room for an hour before returning home afterward. The abortion pill, you take the first pill in the clinic and 24 hours later take the 2nd pill (four pills). This starts the cramping and expels the pregnancy. They informed me it can last anywhere between 6-12 hours. Mine lasted about 7.

5) Would my boyfriend be allowed into the procedure and/or centre to help keep me company? keeping in mind we are both underage...

Yes. I'm sixteen and my boyfriend is 20. As far as I'm aware, age doesn't make a difference though. They let him in on everything. The ONLY two things my boyfriend wasn't allowed to see were when they were giving me my ultrasound and the beginning of my counseling session because they wanted me not to be influenced or pressured in it. He was allowed in after me and her talked for a bit though. They should have no problem to have him come and support you. The place I went highly ENCOURAGED you bring a support buddy/boyfriend.

I definitely know the stress and questions that you're feeling. I want you to know that you're not alone in this. I was/am young too. It's a hard situation to go through.
If you ever want to talk about it or get more information on my story/have any questions, absolutely feel free to message me at ANY time and I'll be more than happy to try my best to help you.
I wish you the best, dear. You'll make it through this.

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Hey guys.
Thank you all so much...
I have been on a lot of those sites, but there are some there that i didn't find.
I appreciate it so much!
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[MisplacedDreamer]

Well, I think some of it should be covered by Australia's health insurance policy.

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So I was in a bit of a rush before.. but i'd just like to say thanks to everyone.
It means so much to have you all do this for me, I haven't got any other support/people I can ask such questions to..
You are all lovely, and I hope you all have a lovely week/month/life
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