That was the problem: many children lost their mothers, because they went to those midwives, some amateurs, to help them have an abortion, which was done in unhygienic conditions, not to mention that those midwives did not have the necessary training. Even though abortion was forbidden by law, many women had one. But everybody was silent about this, you couldn?t talk about these problems; women were not explained the dangers they were exposed to and the consequences of these interventions. The subject was taboo. (M. C. J., 96)

At that time I was working at the Institute of Metallurgic Designs. When Ceausescu said the population should increase, very strict rules regarding abortion were introduced. Almost every month, the institute?s doctor would conduct gynecological check-ups. It was obligatory. The good part was that you could run tests that you wouldn?t normally do, not every month. The worst part was that if you were pregnant?

The medical room was equipped with a gynecological table and everything else. We were tested every month like cattle. There were doctors who sympathized with some of the women who had 4 or 5 children and reported that they weren?t pregnant even if they were. The women would later take care of her problem.

I?ve had a few experiences like these and they were terrible. I was lucky to have a connection in a hospital, a gynecologist who introduced me to somebody who performed abortions. The doctor I knew told me: I?m on cal tonight, from 7 PM to 7 AM, you come tonight and I take you to the person who triggers the abortion, and in 3-4-5 hours, depending on how your body reacts, you get an abortion.? From the moment the abortion was triggered, you had to be at the hospital, bleeding, the respective person called the doctor on call, somebody whom you knew. The situation was very dangerous, so the doctor had to call a Securitate guy who was supposed to make a call to the prosecutor?s office and report an abortion. If they gave their approval, doctors were allowed to use their surgical tools. Their tools were usually sealed and could only be used with approval from the top. Of course, they had their tools stashed away somewhere. The nurse on call would cal the respective doctor, who performed the abortion, with or without an anaesthetic, as quickly as possible, so that he wasn?t seen by a colleague. You could only spend a night there, or a few hours and then they practically dragged you home.

The methods they used were terrible. Thinking back, I don?t know if I would do it again, taking all those risks again, going through that ordeal?