Abortion legislation ruling: NI Woman traumatised by abortion regret after being raped at age of 13
01/12/2015 Belfast Telegraph
A woman from Northern Ireland who became pregnant after she was raped at the age of 13 has told how she has been traumatised by her abortion.
It comes as a Belfast High Court ruled that the almost outright ban on abortion here breaches human rights legislation.
The landmark case on Monday could see a relaxation of the strict laws prohibiting women accessing terminations in cases of rape, incest or where there is a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality.
Speaking on the BBC's Stephen Nolan Show, the woman told how she was raped at just 13-years-old, travelled to England for an abortion and then returned to school the next day.
She told how she has gotten over the impact of the rape but that she is still haunted by her abortion and wishes she had made a different choice.
"When I was 13, I was raped and I conceived as a result of that rape. It was all very traumatic, my parents being God-fearing Christians coerced me into having an abortion and I had to go to England for that", she said.
"Then I had to come back and go back to school the very next day.
"It was all brushed under the carpet and my parents just thought that we could just forget about it.
"Fast forward 37 years and I've realised I'm suffering from post-abortion trauma, and because I was never able to forget about the abortion, about the son that I'd lost.
"Now it wasn't the trip to England that caused me all my strife during those years and it wasn't the rape itself - it was the abortion that caused the trauma.
"I could have loved my son, I know that now. Even though he was conceived through rape I could have loved him."
She added: "The most horrendous thing was the abortion. The rape I've been able to get over, the trip to England, not a problem."
"I know many people through social medial all over the world who have been conceived in rape and went on to be born, they were very much loved, they are leading very fulfilled and happy lives.
"I wish I could turn the clock back and I had kept my son."