Ms Liz McDermott:

I understand why some women opt for abortion and why it would seem the best thing for them to do at the time. I am trying to say that one cannot make that call at that time. I could not have known how John would impact on me, my family and many others in many ways. It is not possible to say it was the best thing because one cannot know that. One has bracketed out any other outcome. Having a baby is a good and positive thing. Women have possibly become a bit afraid of it because it interferes with our careers and there are issues in terms of a lack of supports for women going back to work. All those things can come crowding into one's mind when one is pregnant. We have to face up to the fact that people decide to have abortions and there is such a thing as abortion regret and some people have experienced serious amounts of emotional trauma that they did not expect after an abortion.