"The day I was labelled a murderer."

Have you ever been called a murderer? It happened to me once.

I was just 19, and my then boyfriend and I had recently found out we were pregnant.

We had only been dating a few months and the pregnancy was unexpected.

At the time, we were not in a great position to embark on parenthood.

I had just started a TAFE course and was living at home with my mum.  He was unemployed.

But still, we thought long and hard about what we should do, before ultimately deciding on a termination.

With the support of my mum and my boyfriend, I had tried to prepare myself for the emotional challenges of an abortion.

But what I wasn’t prepared for was what happened to me outside the Melbourne abortion clinic where I had the procedure.

I knew the centre, the Fertility Control Clinic, was a target for anti-abortionists, but I don’t think I had quite understood how confronting this would be.

After I arrived at the clinic, they tried to block me from entering, and my boyfriend had to push us through the crowd.

They were passing anti-abortion material around and shouting out to me. That’s when I heard them use the word ‘murderer’.

It was like being in the midst of a paparazzi scrum, only much, much worse. It felt more like being in the middle of an angry mob.

It was totally overwhelming trying to enter the building. I was already feeling vulnerable and distraught. It made an already extremely difficult situation even harder.

When you are pregnant and make the decision to get an abortion, there are so many things to think of. The decision was not taken lightly and in a way I still carry it with me to this day.

I believe strongly in freedom of speech, but I do think what happened to me outside the clinic, and what still happens to other women, oversteps the mark.

There is no doubt that the distress caused by this group compounded the pain of what was already a very difficult experience.

That’s why I was pleased to hear this clinic is now taking legal action to try and stop these anti-abortionists from harassing and intimidating women.

Something as simple as requiring the group to move across the street or down the road from the clinic would make such a difference. It would make sure that women could safely access the clinic.

When I was confronted by the anti-abortionists, I was too distressed to say anything. But if I had the opportunity again, I would tell them they are cowards. To hassle women who are already feeling vulnerable is nothing short of cruel and gutless.

Their actions are targeting the wrong people. If they really want to help lower the rate of abortions, they should talk to the government about improving support for single mothers, or making childcare more affordable.

While they made me feel harassed and victimised, their actions did not make me question my decision to have an abortion.

I had already spent weeks agonising over my decision and seeking the advice of family and friends whose opinion I trusted and valued.

The views of a bunch of strangers who didn’t know anything about me or my circumstances was not going to change my mind.

Law firm Maurice Blackburn and the Human Rights Law Centre has commenced legal action on behalf of Melbourne’s Fertility Control Clinic to compel the Melbourne City Council to take action against the anti-abortionists outside the clinic. The writer is a 39-year-old mother of two and a former patient of the clinic.