No, you are not legally required to tell your partner that you want an abortion. However, honesty and communication are key to a healthy relationship if you plan on staying with your partner.

This article will explore the essential steps you need to take before seeking an abortion, plus strategies for talking to your partner.

How to Protect Your Health

Abortion comes with potentially serious risks to your physical and mental health. Before making this decision, it’s critical to get an ultrasound. This simple scan will give you the information you need to protect your health, including:

Gestational age: Certain abortion options, like medical abortion (also known as the “abortion pill”), are only FDA-approved if you’ve been pregnant for nine weeks or less. If your pregnancy is further along and you take the abortion drugs, you’re more likely to experience a risk, like an incomplete abortion (this is when parts of the terminated pregnancy remain in your uterus, which can quickly lead to infection).
Pregnancy location: Rarely, a pregnancy will develop outside the uterus. This is a life-threatening emergency known as ectopic pregnancy, and it requires immediate medical intervention.
Pregnancy viability: Roughly 26% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, and it’s possible to experience one without immediate symptoms. If you’ve had a miscarriage, you will need medical follow-up to ensure you don’t have any complications.

At Pregnancy Help Center of Central Missouri, we offer free, limited ultrasounds because we believe you deserve to have all the information you need to make an informed decision.

How to Talk to Your Partner

Even if you know the decision you want to make for your pregnancy, talking to your partner can be constructive and potentially open your eyes to possibilities you hadn’t considered.

If you aren’t sure how to bring up the topic, the following talking points can help:

I’m considering [this pregnancy decision], and here’s why.
How do you feel? What questions do you have?
If we don’t agree, how can we move forward together?

Sometimes, talking with your partner in front of a neutral third party can help you both have a safe space to explore your feelings.

However, if you think that talking to your partner might put your safety at risk, it’s critical to not meet with them alone. Instead, you can opt to talk with them in a public setting, if you choose to speak with them at all.

You’re Not Alone

Navigating your pregnancy options can be difficult, but you’re not alone in this. At Pregnancy Help Center, we’re here for you.

Before seeking an abortion or making any other pregnancy decision, contact us to get the information you need to protect yourself. All appointments and services are free and confidential.