I've read it a few times, but I still can't believe it. A 22-year-old Spaniard went to get an abortion when she was seven weeks pregnant. After the procedure, the gynecologist confirmed the abortion had been successful. A couple of weeks later, the woman returned for a follow-up appointment at which time a scan confirmed the abortion had been successful and that she was, in fact, no longer pregnant.
But several months later, when she thought she'd gotten pregnant again and decided to go back for a second abortion, a scan showed she was six months pregnant, which meant that the original abortion had been botched. Since she was already 22 weeks pregnant, she couldn't get a legal abortion and the woman claims she had no choice but to keep the child who was born in October 2010.
Read more in ¿Qué más?: My mom had an abortion and I still love her
Now the gynecologist has been ordered to pay $1,300 a month in what's essentially child support until the child turns 25, plus $189,000 for emotional damages. While there are many people within the medical community who don't agree with the judge's decision, the woman says she's pleased because since the unwanted pregnancy, she had to quit her job, has gone back to her parents and has "nothing."
I don't really know if the punishment is fair or not, but what I do know is that one day the child will most probably find out what happened and it won't be easy for either him or his mother. Check out what the woman told the Spanish newspaper Diario de Mallorca:
Now I'm ok because I have taken on my new role, there's no other way around it, I'm fine with my son and we just need to move forward … When I have to explain all this to him, I'll try to make sure that he feels okay about it. It was back then that he was not wanted, not now.
It makes me so sad to hear a mom say that! It's undeniable that this woman only became a mother because she had no other choice and it seems to me that no amount of money will be able to change that.
What would you do if you discovered you were still pregnant months after you got an abortion?
Image via chrismar/flickr
