Stylist magazine publishes interview with MSI client on abortion during the pandemic

Abortion • 4 May 2021 • 3 min read

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Jenny*, MSI UK client, spoke to journalist Hannah Keegan from Stylist about her experience of terminating a pregnancy in August 2020, during the pandemic.

Read Jenny’s story below.

*names have been changed.

“I didn’t want to bring another person into such a scary world”

As I reached the fifth week of the pregnancy […] I googled ‘pregnancy termination UK’ and the number of an organisation called MSI Reproductive Choices came up, which is an NGO that provides contraception and safe abortions.

I knew there had been a frightening time at the beginning of the pandemic where some women briefly struggled to get access to abortion, but thankfully early medical abortions were made available via telephone consultation last March. It was a huge relief not to have to go to the doctor in-person. I didn’t want to have to face anyone – I wanted to feel anonymous. Even then, making the first call was nerve-wracking. In all honesty, I thought I would be judged. I thought the voice on the other end of the link would assume I was some stupid girls who hadn’t been careful.

The two nurses I spoke to were, in fact, incredibly kind. I told them my situation and that I wanted to go ahead with a termination, and they were really understanding and helpful – you could hear the compassion in their voices. They talked me through the practical side of things: that the abortion pills would be sent to me, what order to take them in, what would happen, that I’d also be provided with pain relief. Having that support made it so much easier.