When I found out I was already pregnant for over 3 months!
The maternal instinct is something quite primitive. Wanting to form a family, have a full house, take care of someone and call them yours. But what about when that is not the case, when you get pregnant without having planned?
In Portugal, as in many other countries, abortion has been legalized giving women the possibility to have an abortion in a safe, hygienic and most important of all, humane way. At this time, termination of pregnancy can be performed within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, calculated from the date of the last menstrual period.
But what about women who only find out they are pregnant after 10 weeks, how do they do it? Will they be forced to have a baby they don't want? Although nowadays there is a lot of information about sex education, fortunately, and a variety of contraceptive methods are available, these too can fail. When this happens, it is often too late, at least in Portugal, to terminate the pregnancy. In order to get around this situation, many women go to the neighboring country to have this procedure performed. In Spain, termination of pregnancy is legal up to 14 weeks. But it is not always that easy, whether due to lack of financial capacity, or because they are still minors, this option is often not viable.
All women have the right to decide what to do with their body, no one should rule over someone else's body, let alone force someone to sacrifice their physical and mental health for an unwanted baby. Is it then fair, when she meets the necessary conditions, for the woman to have to go through this painful process outside her country?
The voluntary termination of pregnancy, at the request of the woman, can be carried out in official or officially recognized health establishments.
If you want more information about the health units in your area, call SNS 24 – 808 24 24 24.
