I learned later that antibiotics for strep throat weakened my Birth Control although no one told me that was possible.
I grew up in a religious family where I was taught having sex before marriage was a sin and Abortion was murder. My Dad led the Right to Life chapter in our community.
So when I started having sex I protected myself with birth control pills from Planned Parenthood and took them like clockwork. You can imagine my shock when I found myself pregnant at 16. I knew I didn’t want to become a parent. I was heading to college later that year on a full scholarship and raising a child wasn’t in my plans.
Living in Hawaii, abortion Services weren’t available on my island. So to get one I would have to fly to another island for the procedure. My boyfriend and I made plans for a shopping trip as cover but when the day of my flight came I was so sick from morning sickness that I couldn’t travel. I was terrified as the days ticked by. In Hawaii abortion was only legal through 12 weeks. I was 8 weeks at this point. I cried. I prayed. I begged my family doctor to help me but they would not. I knew my baggy sweatshirts weren’t going to hide my secret much longer.
Then like a miracle in week 10 my local Planned Parenthood called. They would begin offering Abortion Services 1 day per week on my island. I was the 2nd person to receive an Abortion the very next week. I felt relief and I felt certain in my choice to end my pregnancy. I learned later that antibiotics for strep throat weakened my Birth Control although no one told me that was possible.
There was never a moment I doubted that for me Abortion was the right decision. I am forever thankful to Planned Parenthood for making the life I chose for myself possible.
