A 20 year old patient came to me today and told me she got pregnant. She asked me what she should do, and she immediately followed that question with another one, "where do I get an abortion?" I asked her if she has considered keeping the baby, and her eyes popped. She then nodded her head. She told me, of course she has considered her options -- there are only two, termination or continuation of the pregnancy. But she thought that the obvious & logical choice would be termination. She didn't think that anyone would even mention the alternative.
I talked to her for a very long time. As her physician, I have to inform her on all the details and the possible outcomes of either scenario. I have also asked her to go home and think long and hard about this, because I don't want her to think of this as something that can be easily taken care of like a sore throat. Finally, I asked her to talk to her family, in addition to her boyfriend, because at such a young age, it will involve everyone in her life. She may very well go it alone as a single mom and would need all the support she can get from her family.
I am glad that I brought up the option of keeping the baby. It seems that she never thought it was a feasible option. Now she knows she has a choice. She is going to tell me her decision on Friday. Whatever her decision ends up being, I hope she has gained some insight into the value of life.
I guess it will be a tough decision for the girl. Hope you will hear something good on Friday.
回覆刪除If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people to not kill each other? Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want
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