I traveled to another state alone at 16 to get an abortion

I was 16 in March of 2000. I was raised very religious and had been homeschooled until high school. My parents got divorced and my home life fell apart. My sheltered upbringing left me vulnerable to sexual misinformation and I believed my boyfriend (who knew better) when he told me that pulling out was safe. When the test was positive I knew I couldn’t tell my mother who was mentally fragile and deeply religious so when the nice people at Planned Parenthood told me that Pennsylvania law required me to have a parents permission to get an abortion, I was devastated. It took me almost the entire first trimester to form a plan. I skipped school with an angelic acquaintance who offered to come with me.

We took a train to a clinic in New Jersey and I emptied my savings account of the $350 that was in it. My friend paid for the train fare. The nurse held my hand during the procedure and said “you’re so young, hunny. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

As an adult, I can’t actually believe that I did such a thing. Anything could have happened to me. No one even knew where I was. I’m so proud and thankful to my 16 year old self for being so brave and strong. I wish I could go back and give her a hug and tell her we would be okay.