OP -- I am sorry for your loss. I do take issue with PP-ers that said that it may not feel fair to be in a room with women who are ending their pregnancies by choice, aborting "healthy" babies. Nobody has any way of knowing whether those babies are, in fact, healthy. You have no idea if those women are drug addicts, or perhpas alcoholics, or have AIDs. They may have been raped or abused. You have no way of determining whether your termination is, in fact, somehow better than or different from, theirs. That is the freedom of choice; you are benefitting from it. It is when we try to draw lines around what is and is not acceptable that we run into issues, as you can see from your insurance denial. You are being denied coverage because the powers that be have actually decided that your choice is no different than any other womans'. That is, I agree, unfair. But I also think it is totally unfair to dicatate when such choices are and are not appropriate.

Dock = sick

Anonymous wrote:I had a termination without anesthesia for miscarriage at 8 weeks and was in so much pain I vomited on myself during the procedure. It was, hands down, the worst experience of my life. It really sucks that as feds our insurance won't cover this, but I would never consider not paying out of pocket under these circumstances. Glad you seem to have found some less expensive options, OP and pps, and appreciate that you've posted them here.

Not at ALL to contradict PP's experience, but I had an elective termination at 8-9 weeks (not a wanted pregnancy) without any anesthesia, and while it hurt & was stressful, it wasn't totally horrific. One good thing was that I was able to recover very quickly and get the hell out of there and be back to feeling like myself very quickly. general anesthesia or even just demerol (puking) would have made recovery drag on and required additional time in the clinic (also more risks to me, physically). Of course, termination of a wanted pregnancy at 13 weeks obviously has different considerations, but I just wanted to throw out there that there are some benefits to just getting it over with with no seriousmeds. In retrospect, I think the perfect combination would have been a big dose of ibuprofen and valium ahead of time.

I had a termination without anesthesia for miscarriage at 8 weeks and was in so much pain I vomited on myself during the procedure. It was, hands down, the worst experience of my life. It really sucks that as feds our insurance won't cover this, but I would never consider not paying out of pocket under these circumstances. Glad you seem to have found some less expensive options, OP and pps, and appreciate that you've posted them here.

OP, i'm so sorry. This is a totally unacceptable level of care that is being given to women. there truly still is a lot of work we have to do in women's rights!!!

It's here:

http://www.opm.gov/retire/pubs/bals/1995/95-223.pdf

I am beyond horrified at what you have to deal with b/c of the federal insurance, OP. Can LIVID or someone else knowledgeable post what rider/provision, etc. of federal insurance has caused this situation so I (and perhaps others) can advocate in this future?

OP I am so, so sorry. This thread caught my eye and I too had to TFMR (T13 with additional risks). I was not aware of the options others have given above and I would encourage you to seek them out. I was under GA and cannot imagine doing it without however, I was a farther along. I paid cash and am just thankful I was able to do so. I thought about others who would be in the same situation and not be able to terminate due to cost/etc.
There are a number of hospitals in the area that will not do terminations but they will do an induction.
Good luck. Valium will likely help you a lot. I am so very sorry.
If you search the forums there are resources for support afterwards - you may find you really need it. I certainly did.

OP I am the PP who ended a pregnancy at 15 weeks w/o anesethia at WHC campus. The PP who recommended the Potomac family planning clinic reminded mr that when I was trying to schedule my abortion it was on a Saturday. I talked to a very compassionate nurse who told me they would come in early before the protestors arrived, but when I left they would likely be there. They are across the street and generally not aggressive. I think if you schedule it for any day besides Saturday there aren't usually protestors. For me it was a holiday weekend coming up and once I made the extremely difficult decision to end the pregnancy, I wanted to do it as soon as possible. Like you this was a multiple week decision making process with a lot of testing.

Again, I am so sorry.

LIVID - I was just about to page you. Still so sorry for your loss and experience with the system. And many thanks for your advocacy on this issue.

OP, I'm so sorry for your loss as well.

LIVID here. Yes, terminations for medical reasons are not covered by Fed insurance. You can look back at the threads where I unfortunately discovered this issue after I had the procedure. I spent a good deal of time during 2009 lobbying Congress to get the rider removed. It absolutely sucks that terminations for medical reasons are not covered.

My whole story is told on this forum back in 2008-2009. Just search for LIVID in all caps.

OP, I wanted to let you know about another option you may not be aware of, called perinatal hospice. There is an OB group in Fairfax that offers this care:

http://www.tepeyacfamilycenter.com/hospice.htm

I cannot say enough about these doctors. They would support you through the months ahead. You would get to love your baby as long as he or she were able to be with you. You could hold him or her, take pictures, and be with him or her until natural death. There would be no pain of surgery, no insurance issues, just time to love your baby.

Many OBs do not offer prenatal hospice, so I just wanted to be sure you knew about it.

Planned parenthood is also an option. I have been to the one in silver spring, and there were no protesters. They are very kind and compassionste.

I am one of the PPs who previously recommended potomac family planning. I would really recommend it as an affordable and very safe option. Also, there are no protesters there at all. There will probably be young girls in the waiting room having their 3rd abortion, however they will try to have you wait in a private room if they know you are there in a fetal anomaly. It is not a hospital, but D&E is a safe and routine procedure and it's a very experienced center. I am quite serious when I said before that I sent one of my closest friends there and had absolutely no qualms about they care she would receive. Please also contact your doctors about support groups and other resources in the area afterwards. This is a very tough thing to go through and you need to take care of your mental health even after you are physically recovered.

It makes me sick that in 2012 women still have to deal with these issues to get a LEGAL medical procedure. I feel so fortunate that I don't work for the government and that this wasn't an issue when I went through this 2 years ago.

OP, I am truly sorry you have to go through this.