I do not regret the decision I made 45 years ago. I do regret that other women no longer have the option.
45 years ago, I was 16, pregnant, and scared. I was scared to tell my mom. I was scared to tell my boyfriend. I was scared that my future had been altered forever. I was scared that I would never attend college and become a teacher, my lifelong dream.
I’ll never forget how I asked my mom to my bedroom for privacy and handed her the positive pregnancy test. She looked it and said, “Well, congratulations. What do you want to do?” I told her I wanted an abortion. She made the arrangements, took me for the procedure, and never spoke of it again. I don’t know to this day if my father ever knew about it. My boyfriend offered to marry me, but I knew he wasn’t the “one,” and he supported my decision.
Because abortion was accessible to me, I was later able to become a teacher, marry, have children, and live a fruitful life. Abortion is now banned in my state, so other 16-year-old girls who find themselves in my position no longer have a choice. My daughters and my granddaughters no longer have the protections that I had. The Supreme Court and my state have taken away their choice, their control over their own bodies, and their right to make a very personal decision that should be made between a woman, her family, and her doctor.
I do not regret the decision I made 45 years ago. I do regret that other women no longer have the option.
