ISSUES
: Abortion
Chapter 1: Abortion facts
4
positive and negative reactions is
experienced. For example:
Positive reactions:
Ö
Relief
Ö
Happiness.
Negative reactions:
Ö
Sorrow
Ö
Sadness
Ö
Guilt
Ö
Regret
Ö
Grief
Ö
Loss.
In some women these negative
reactions can lead to:
Ö
Depression
Ö
Anxiety
Ö
Low self-worth.
Womenvarygreatly in their emotional
responses
when
considering
abortion. To make a fully informed
decision it may well be helpful for
you to have the opportunity to
look at all the options and possible
outcomes.
Your
may
feel
that
your
circumstances affect your freedom
to make a decision.
CareConfidential offers a safe place
to consider and discuss all your
options.
A
CareConfidential
telephone
advisor is available on our national
helpline 0300 4000 999 or use
our free CareConfidential Online
Advisor service.
You may also like to:
Ö
Make an appointment with your
GP to discuss abortion options
with them.
Abortion: where to go
If you’re pregnant and considering an abortion, find out who to talk to and where
and when an abortion can take place.
You may be able to refer yourself to
an abortion provider, without seeing
your GP, if you prefer:
Ö
Visit your Sexual Health Clinic
Ö
Contact the British Pregnancy
Advisory Service
Ö
Contact
Marie
Stopes
International.
You will be able to discuss abortion
options with all of these abortion
providers.
Ö
The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from the Pregnancy Choices
Directory. Please visit www.
pregnancychoicesdirector y.
com for further information.
© Pregnancy Choices
Directory 2016
If you’re not sure whether you’re
pregnant, find out about doing a
pregnancy test.
How do I get an abortion?
You need to be referred by a doctor
to get an abortion on the NHS.
There are usually three stages to
the referral process.
First, visit a GP or contraception
clinic. They can refer you to NHS
abortion services and discuss your
options with you. If you’re under 25,
you can also go to a young people’s
service such as Brook.
The next stage is an assessment
appointment at the clinic or hospital
where the abortion will be carried
out. At this appointment, the doctor
or nurse will explain the different
types of abortion and will be able to
talk things over with you if you wish.
Finally, you will be given another
appointment at the hospital or clinic
to have the abortion.
Alternatively, you can go directly to
an independent abortion provider
such as bpas (the British Pregnancy
Advisory Service) or Marie Stopes
UK, which can provide abortions on
the NHS as well as private abortions
that you pay for.
You can find your nearest
contraceptive clinic or genito-
urinary medicine (GUM) clinic by
using the sexual health service
search. Or you can look in your
local phone directory or on the FPA
website. Young people can visit the
Brook website to find their nearest
Brook centre.
You can also pay for an abortion at
a private clinic. The cost (around
£400 or more) depends on how far
along the pregnancy you are and the
type of abortion you’re having. You
can contact a private clinic without
seeing a GP, and you can find one
through organisations such as:
Ö
FPA
Ö
bpas
Ö
Marie Stopes UK
Ö
local sexual health services
How late into the pregnancy
can I have an abortion?
Abortion is legal in Great Britain
at any time up to 24 weeks
of pregnancy. The majority of
abortions are carried out before 13
weeks, and most of the rest before
20 weeks.
There are some exceptions. If the
mother’s life is at risk, or if the
child would be born with a severe
physical or mental disability, an
abortion may be carried out after
24 weeks.
What are my options?
It largely depends on how far into
the pregnancy you are. A doctor
can talk you through the different
methods available.
The Royal College of Obstetricians
and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has a
leaflet called
Abortion care
(PDF,
217kb), which contains a useful
timeline on page 4 showing the
types of abortion that can be
carried out at different stages of
pregnancy.
