I was 15 the first time. After missing a full week of school due to weird symptoms, my mom asked if I might be pregnant. We took the test together, and when the result came back positive I immediately said I needed an abortion. My mom thanked me for being able to make that decision for myself.

Our insurance didn’t cover abortion, and I’m still amazed my mom was able to secure nearly $700 in less than a week. I experienced slight discomfort during the procedure, but it wasn’t really painful. Afterwards I felt like I had my period. I was back in school two days later and I was thrilled to not be pregnant! I grew up in a city with incredibly high teen pregnancy rates and I had many peers who were parents. That reality simply couldn’t be mine. I deserved to be a teenager, having fun and experiencing life without a child.

At 19 I became pregnant for the second time. I didn’t immediately know what I wanted to do, but eventually I decided to have an abortion. I just didn’t want to be a parent yet. This abortion happened a bit later into the pregnancy and was more painful than my first. But again, I was so glad to have been able to make the choice not to be pregnant or have an unwanted child. I’m also really happy the insurance I had paid for the procedure, because if not, I likely would’ve been forced to carry that pregnancy to term.

I’m 32 now and the abortion care I received at Planned Parenthood when I was 15 and 19 is still the best medical care I’ve ever received. As a poor Black person, I’ve suffered consistently inadequate gynecological care. I talk about my abortions whenever possible, and recently told my 10-yr-old child about them. My hope is that being vocal about the my abortion experiences will help more people understand that people with uteruses don’t exist for the sole purpose of creating children. My wish is that someday no one is led to parenthood because they simply had no other choice. Abortion is necessary. Abortion is healthcare.