It affirmed my life.
25 years ago, I was 17 and I got pregnant the first time I had sex – it’s not uncommon. We used a condom, he left it inside of me. Simple as that. He was a sad kid – he didn’t really have a family; he was 19 and he was housed only sometimes. I was 17 and I would not have made a good parent and, turns out, there was no real reason I had to be.
Seeing the second line on that pregnancy test is, to this day, the scariest memory I have. It was terrifying. It was terrifying even though I lived in a time and place where abortion was available and accessible. I looked it up in the phone book. The rest of the particulars are both personally dramatic and, also, really lovely. I had parents that supported this choice. I had friends that supported this choice. I had a state government that supported everyone’s choice, and while I didn’t have a partner who supported this choice, I didn’t need one.
I had a short procedure and a long time to process it. It was before pills were widely available. I went to a doctor’s office, and I remember clearly the doctor’s voice saying “it’s almost over” – I will always remember that.
I was enormously lucky to have that choice so accessible to me. It allowed me to have the life I have, which is one that is dedicated to others.
I work in public health – I work in health care – and I think all the time about how this was the most life changing health care I was able to receive. It affirmed my life.
