Christina Tofaeono was initially overjoyed to by the news of her pregnancy, with an equally happy and supportive partner. At the age of 16, she could not even grasp abortion as a possible option.
Her roommates — her support system after being kicked out of her parents’ home at 14 — led her to see a doctor. She was then told to book an appointment for an abortion, with no second opinion from those around her.
Tofaeono told The Catholic Leader, “The doctor just signed this piece of paper and gave me this piece of paper and I was on my way. I wasn’t given an option.”
Clinic Quotes reported that a study found “64 percent of American women who had abortions felt pressured by others.”
Often, those women reported they would have carried the baby to term, but the majority of them had no support from family, friends, or doctors.
After conversing with clinic doctors, Tofaeono spoke with pregnancy counselors about her options, but everyone she confided in gave her the same answer. Tofaeono aborted her child after eight weeks, with counselors and doctors telling her she would feel relieved.
“I didn’t feel relieved at all, I felt really empty,” Tofaeono said.
She compared her experience to the traumatic rape and sexual abuse she experienced as a child.
“But nothing prepared her for the ‘horror’ of her post-abortion experience,” Emilie Ng wrote for The Catholic Leader.
Tofaeono experienced post-abortion trauma that many women go through, but often goes unreported. Clinic Quotes noted that “65 percent suffer multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, with suicide rates six to seven times higher if women abort the child verses giving birth.”
Now 22 years old and a mother of one healthy child, Tofaeono is studying for a bachelor’s degree in justice and psychology, then plans to attend law school.
After law school, she hopes to put together a proposal that clearly defines the beginning stages of life.
“Just to see a definition of life to be legislated, because there’s always that argument that it’s just a clump of cells, it’s not a baby, just a fetus – just to define that life begins at conception and it’s been scientifically proven and we have all the facilities to show for,” Tofaeono said.
Tofaeono has the right idea, as Clinic Quotes found that increased awareness about the scientific procedures involving abortion, that it is not a “quick and easy solution” has helped abortion rates drop significantly in the last decade.
“Seventy-seven percent of Americans now realize that abortion takes a life, including one-third of those who describe themselves as strongly pro-choice,” Clinic Quotes noted.
Tofaeono hopes that her experience puts pressure on politicians in Australia who are taking initiative to legalize abortion at 9 months. Independent MP Rob Pyne, representing Cairns, “recently drafted a private member’s bill to legalize abortion,” the Daily Mail reported. Being a victim of pressure first-hand, Tofaeono is a strong voice for thousands of women who have experienced the same treatment.
