Surviving Abortion

Melissa Ohden

In August of 1977, my biological mother, a nineteen-year-old college student named Ruth, had a saline infusion abortion forced upon her by her mother, a prominent nurse in their community, with the help of her colleague, the local abortionist. This abortion procedure involved injecting a toxic salt solution into the amniotic fluid meant to protect my fragile body, to poison and scald me to death. I soaked in that toxic solution for five days as they tried time and time again to induce Ruth’s labor with me.

When I was finally expelled from the womb on that fifth day of the abortion procedure, my arrival into this world was not so much a birth, but an accident, a “live birth” after a saline infusion abortion. My medical records actually state,

“A saline infusion for an abortion was done, but was unsuccessful.”

Another record identifies a complication of Ruth’s pregnancy as a saline infusion. My medical records reflect that the doctors initially suspected I had a fatal heart defect due to high levels of fetal distress. My grandmother demanded that I be left to die, but I am grateful for the NICU nurse working that day who was unwilling to do as she was told, and rushed me to the NICU.