I am so lucky.

I started dating someone, and we stopped using condoms immediately after we decided we were ‘official’. One month later I was pregnant. It was a long distance relationship at the time, and I remember calling him and telling him the news through shaky breaths. I knew he wanted to be a father so, so badly. I was scared that he would grow to resent me if I had an abortion. We weighed all of the options we thought we had: Becoming parents, adoption, and abortion. We ultimately came to the decision that we did not know each other well enough to parent together successfully, and I had an abortion at nine weeks. He made the trip to me and spent the day of, and the following days, with me while my body passed the pregnancy. He cared for and nurtured me and stood by my decision through it all, and continues to do so when I have the occasional bouts of grief about it. I have been and continue to be so lucky to have a partner that genuinely respects and trusts my decisions, and weighs in with his own thoughts when asked. We made this decision together, and look forward to the day when we feel we are in a good position mentally, financially, and emotionally to be parents. In this process, he confided in his mother and she shared her own abortion story, as well as another close friend of ours. Knowing that I am supported by multiple people helps me know that we truly made the right decision for us at the time. I know that not everyone has that support and that is why I choose to stand for the right to an abortion, for all.