Montreal woman who had late abortion says she made the right decision

Article content

The Montreal woman who ended her pregnancy at 35 weeks says the experience was so painful that she will never speak about it in public again.

Reaction to her late-term abortion provoked dozens of comments on social media, some compassionate but many vitriolic, with some going so far as to call the woman a baby killer. Why not have the baby and put it up for adoption, demanded one Facebook commentator. 

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

COVID-19 checks: Province has no plan to give police power to enter private homes,… Back to video

COVID-19 checks: Province has no plan to give police power to enter private homes,…

 

X

Advertisement

The woman, who asked that her name not be used to protect her identity, told the Montreal Gazette the decision to end her pregnancy was heartbreaking.

“It was not easy. It didn’t happen just like that, for silly reasons,” she said. “We want everyone to know the baby was having serious problems and it got worse right up to the termination.”

She wants to turn the page, but says that what happened to her and her husband raises questions about access to abortion in Quebec.

Requests for late-term abortions are rare in Canada, performed when the fetus is gravely or fatally impaired or the woman’s life is at risk. Less than one per cent of abortions take place after 20 weeks of gestation.

Article content continued

In late April, the couple learned with great joy that they were expecting. It was going to be their first child. At 20 weeks, an ultrasound test showed no abnormalities. “Everything was fine,” she said. They were having a boy. The couple bought clothing and ordered a crib and other supplies.

But then at seven months, a new ultrasound showed the fetus was abnormally small and had skeletal malformations, likely caused by a genetic mutation, the woman said. Doctors at McGill University Health Centre where she was being followed “couldn’t tell us what the baby had, they were guessing,” she said, about the exact nature of the medical condition and the extent of the future disability.

The couple sought a second opinion at another hospital, undergoing several tests, and were told the baby might never walk, she said. “It was really a shock to us. They said it’s a rare disease and that he may need operations on the spine, medical interventions, operations … but they couldn’t say which operations,” she said. “We researched and watched videos of other cases, and there aren’t many. 

Article content continued

“We couldn’t stand it that our baby would suffer like these babies,” she said. “Our termination choice was serious.”

But when the couple sought to end the pregnancy at 30 weeks, the MUHC refused the request after consulting a committee of physicians, who based their opinion, in part, on the Quebec College of Physicians’ guidelines. The 2002 guidelines stipulate that late abortions, after 23 weeks, are reserved for “serious congenital anomalies” or “exceptional clinical situations.”

The College said Tuesday it is updating its guidelines so that women can have access to abortions without problems.

In a statement, the MUHC said it recognizes a woman’s right to voluntary abortion, as established by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1988.

Article content continued

Rather than fighting the MUHC by mounting a court case, the woman followed the advice of her lawyer and sought an abortion elsewhere. Faced with the prospect of an ethics committee at Ste-Justine Hospital deciding on her request, she ultimately got the abortion at 35 weeks of pregnancy at an unnamed Montreal hospital.

Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette called the MUHC’s refusal to proceed with the woman’s abortion “legally unacceptable” but morally understandable.

“Legally, every woman — and it’s a Supreme Court decision — has a right to an abortion at anytime before she gives birth,” Barrette said on Wednesday. “On the other hand, we cannot force a doctor to proceed with late abortions.”

Since 2005, Quebec covers the costs of late-term abortions done out-of-province, including the travel to the United States and the medical procedure. An estimated 17 to 42 Quebec women go south every year to terminate a third-trimester pregnancy.

Article content continued

Despite repeated requests, the Health Department did not provide the cost of foreign abortions.

Patients’ rights advocate and lawyer Jean-Pierre Ménard said the woman should not have had to mount a fight against the MUHC or any Quebec hospital because the law is not concerned with the moral aspect of the situation.

“Morally we can be in agreement or not, I’m a father, but the choice rests uniquely with women,” Ménard said “Who gets to decide whether your fetus is malformed enough (for an abortion) and that you must carry it to term and give birth? That’s so terribly heavy for a woman.

“What’s at stake here are patients’ and women’s rights,” he said.

Concordia University’s Stephanie Paterson agrees. Women’s rights are paramount given that a fetus is not a legal entity until it is born, said Paterson, an expert in feminist policy studies, gender and public policy. However, the backlash on social media is no surprise given that abortion is a hot-button issue. But to portray these women as murderers is offensive, she said.

Article content continued

“First, no one is doing this lightly. I know women who have had late-term abortions because of medical reasons and they are horrified. These decisions were not taken willy-nilly, they are weighty and difficult.”

“In general, we don’t offer a lot of support to parents with kids with disabilities,” said Paterson. The decision to carry to term a fetus with abnormalities is not an easy one, she said. “So how do we better support families that have kids with disabilities and maybe ease that decision?”

The Supreme Court of Canada made it clear that there are no restrictions to abortion on demand, she added. “So a woman’s choice is a woman’s choice. It’s none of our business,” she said. “As for the moral issue, OK, if you don’t want an abortion, don’t get one.”

Article content continued

Paterson said she understands the logic of critics who say at 35 weeks the fetus is viable outside the womb. And science is pushing those boundaries back daily, she added: “How far do we carry that logic? … Ultimately viability is the mother’s choice, the pregnant person’s choice, and that’s supported by legal precedence.”

The woman who recently ended her pregnancy says she’s trying to move on with her life now. One day there will be another baby. But for now, her husband has moved the boxes of baby clothes, the crib and toys to another room.

“I can’t stand to see them,” she said, her voice choked with emotion.

She is also avoiding social media and its slew of cruel comments. She dismissed suggestions she should have given the child up for adoption rather than abort. “Those people missed the point: I don’t want my baby to suffer,” she said. “No one was living what we were living and they can’t judge us.” 

“It’s a big thing losing your baby. I am willing to go though the pain of losing my baby. But I don’t want him to suffer,” she said. “I’m sad. I’m crying. But I think we made the right decision.”

Quebec abortion by the numbers

cfidelman@postmedia.com

twitter.com/HealthIssues