At the time I got pregnant, I had just graduated college and still working at my part-time college job. I was living in a small one room place with mold, mice, and a mattress on the floor. My mental health was struggling greatly. I hadn’t been with my bf for very long at the time and he was still in college. He did not want to be a dad at the time, at all. I didn’t know how I felt – I didn’t feel strongly toward keeping the pregnancy, but I also didn’t feel strongly about terminating it. I didn’t know how I would be able to provide as my family had also just moved hours away. It took me 8 weeks to decide how I felt because I didn’t have much of an opinion on it. When I saw the heartbeat on the ultrasound, in my heart I knew that I didn’t feel excited about it because of my circumstances. That was when I knew that the best thing to do would be to have an abortion. I had a medical abortion, which was very painful for me personally. I struggled on and off after my abortion as it was a sensitive time in politics and a lot of people (including family) were debating it on social media, saying horrible things about people who have had abortions. I felt I did the right thing by not bringing a child into the situation I was in. Now, I’m living in a beautiful place and have a great job at an amazing organization that inspired me to start a masters degree. My relationship is better than ever. My mental health is the best it’s been in a decade. I know if I hadn’t made the choice I did, that I wouldn’t be where I am today. Now, I can give my best self to my future child if I choose to have one. I know I made the right choice, it just took a little to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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