I unapologetically had my abortion two months ago today. I missed my period by about a week and had a feeling so I wasn’t surprised when I took a test to find out I was five weeks + five days pregnant. I have a conservative family so I only told my boyfriend (then awhile later, some friends), and I’m unbothered about that. This is my body, and that was my decision.
Less than two hours after taking the test, I got abortion medication prescribed via a provider found through Plan C with a sliding scale price (truly – shout OUT), and I received them four days later. And although unapologetic, I was surprised at the emotions that still came up for me around this. Abortion via the pill was much much more painful than I was expecting. I was also a little anxious about a blood clot disorder I have somehow presenting itself; I wanted to do a lot of self-care around it. I made myself a high-iron soup and asked my boyfriend to come over to keep me company that night, but he has a physically demanding job, was heat exhausted, and went to sleep. I really just ended up sobbing in the bath unable to figure out a way to ease the pain and just consoled myself with the fact it would probably be over in four hours.
Now it’s two months later and I usually forget I had an abortion, it’s really an insignificant part of who I am. But I will never not be privileged + grateful for the access I had to it. I’m not sure if I have fully processed what it would’ve been like – how my life would’ve changed – to have not had that access. Just ten minutes away from me, in another state, abortion is effectively banned with some of the most strict, abhorrent abortion laws in the country. I firmly will always believe in bodily autonomy + reproductive justice for all.
