Ending a pregnancy
Contraception doesn’t always work. For a range of reasons, one in three women in Australia will terminate a pregnancy. By Muriel Reddy
D
eciding to end a pregnancy is a difficult choice for any woman. In Australia, one in three women will have an abortion. Of these women, a third, if not more of them, will have a second one at some point during their reproductive years. That’s according to Dr Catriona Melville, deputy medical director at Marie Stopes Australia and 12 VOLUME 1 2020
a specialist in sexual and reproductive health. Dr Melville says the reasons for terminating a pregnancy are complex. In some instances, women are trapped in violent relationships where partners insist on terminations. For other women, the decision might be related to financial issues, they might not be in a secure relationship, or
they might feel too young – or even too old – to care for a child. Whatever the reason might be, women can educate themselves on their options. To end a pregnancy, women have two choices – a medical termination of pregancy, known as MTOP, or a surgical termination, known as STOP (surgical termination of pregnancy).
