Post-Abortion Experience: Seeking Support & Clarity

Question
This past friday (4 days ago) I went into an abortion clinic to be seen.  I debated this long and hard and was absolutly terrified and heartbroken that I was planning to do this but because of all of the information I was given on their website and by a live person over the phone, I felt confident where I was going and that I would recieve plenty of information/options once I was seen in the office.  My husband and I packed up and drove 4 hours away to this office where I was told I would be taken in given lab work, ultrasound counciling and meet with a Dr about my decision and was told that my husband could be with me through it all for support.  Well, that was not my experience in the least.  Once they took me back, they made my husband sit in the waiting area, I figured while I went back for the lab and to meet with a counciler, well, no, they took me directly into an office and told me that they were not offering me any other options, just one and that was the shot and supositories 4 days later, but they also offer another medical abortion proceedure but I was not getting it.  She then ran me back to the ultrasound room where she rudly said "huh, your not even 6 weeks yet so you have no other options anyway".  Then she took me back to the office and said, "your cost is so and so and how will you be paying", well thats when my husband got to come in, so he could pay and sign the reciept then he was rushed back into the waiting room.  After that they took me to their "lab" where they stuck my finger and rushed me back to another waiting area.  By this time I was balling my eyes out because I thought I would be able to have some support and comfort, which I got none of.  They then took me back to the exam room where I was sat down in a chair next to a garbage can with a hose in it and bloody gloves and gauze pads, to say the least I was sick at my stomach and was about to run out.  Then the Dr came in with a shot and went on for about 5 minutes about how amazing this drug is and how easy this would be for me because Im a perfect candidate.  I couldnt get a word in and before I knew it she was asking which arm I wanted the injection in.  Now here I am, in pain with cramps scared to death that I made the wrong decision in having this done and i felt like I had no option once I got in there, they just rushed me through.  Nobody counciled me like it says on their site and like they told me over the phone that they would, so I felt like that was my only choice.  Is it legal for them to claim they will council you and let you make the decision on going forth with the abortion then not even discuss options with you or council you on your decision to be sure it is what you want?  They just kept throwing papers at me to sign when I went to the office I thought they would council me in, and rushed me so I didnt even have time to sit and read them.  Im just so torn and distraught on this treatment and their lack of honesty that I just dont know what to do.   Please, any advice would be great as I am terrified to continue this but am terrified of the outcome if I dont proceed with the abortion.  Thank you

Answer
It sounds like you had a medical abortion with the drug Methotrexate because you were an early pregnancy.  The suppository you had sounds like 4 vaginal pills which are Misoprostol 800 mcg which complete the medical abortion.  The Misoprostol should cause cramping and bleeding.  You need to go back for follow-up to make sure the procedure worked.  You can take Motrin 800 mg every 6 hours for the cramping.  They should have provided medication for pain.  The cramps are a normal part of the process.  I tell my patients they must have 2-4 hours of pain and they have to call if they have no cramping.  So be assured the process is working.

I am sorry you had that experience.  You need to feel empowered at this moment.  Take what you have written here and place it in a letter to the facility.  Take your follow-up visit as an opportunity to tell them how you felt.  You can make the experience better for women who have to go there.  It is unfortunate you had to drive so far.  Many facilities think they are expediting the process and making women feel comfortable by using this technique.  They are often unaware that it is having the opposite effect. I would make a copy of the add and attach it to your letter and highlight what is there and just tell them this is not what your experience was.  The only way things change is that someone has the courage to speak up.  Many women have the misfortune of having no facility in their area and no doctors to provide abortion services.  It is the reality and the burden of so many women that they are not able to seek care with their doctor they have known for years.