Abortion is the Greatest Choice I Ever Made

Since Abort73 started posting abortion stories a few years ago, almost all of the testimonies we've received have been expressions of regret–well over 90%. But last week, we heard from an 18-year-old college student from Edison, NJ who calls her abortion, "the greatest choice I ever made." This is her testimony in full:

I'm 18, just started college. I was not sleeping around. I partied moderately, and I met a super nice guy. We waited a while before we had sex, but when we did, it was great. At least, until I missed my period. I made it very clear to him that I was going to take a test, and if it was positive, we were not going to cry, we were going to abort it and maintain a positive attitude. I took a pregnancy test. Positive. I took another one. Positive. Uh oh. I told my guy, and he was supportive. I made an appointment at Planned Parenthood for the next week. He took me to the appointment, where all the staff were friendly and comforting. I had been reading stories about the abortion pill (medical abortion) online, and was terrified. I read of women having terrible adverse side effects and was horrified that that would be me. I spoke to the staff about it, and they assured me that I would be fine. In all their years operating, only one emergency occurred and only one woman had to retake the pills. It was comforting to hear that. They gave me the first pill to take in the office, along with the next pills I would have to take at home the next day. They also gave me antibiotics and instructed me to take 4 Advils a half hour before the next pills. I went back to my dorm, relaxed, got into sweats, and waited to take the next pills. When I did take them the next day, it was not a quarter as bad as I expected. Minor cramping similar to a period, and some bleeding. It lasted for about as long as a period, too. My abortion was probably the greatest choice I ever made. I was not prepared for a child, and could not put my body, social life, family, and the father through the unavoidable negative consequences of an unwanted pregnancy. I am happy I did not bring that child into the world. I have no regrets.

So, what do we say about a testimony like this? How do we combat the logic of someone who counts abortion as one of their most positive life experiences? There are numerous directions we could go, but I doubt that any would be as compelling as this poem Abort73 received just a day later. It came to us from a 16-year-old girl in Berwyn, PA:

I know that you’re scared
and don’t want to listen,
but let me tell you a story
before you make your decision.

There was once a young girl
in the same place as you,
she wasn’t sure if this
she’d be able to go through.

She was trapped by her own choices
with no easy way out,
she chose the hardest choice
but the best without a doubt.

She was really just a girl
but was wise and chose the option,
to give her baby a better life
and give her up for adoption.

She knew what truly mattered
and decided to be brave,
‘cause her life would be interrupted
but her baby’s would be saved.

She had amazing strength and love
I hope I’ll get that from her,
‘cause I guess I didn’t tell you
that woman was my mother.

So before you make your choice
put yourself in my place,
‘cause I’m one of those babies
a mother chose to save.

Berwyn, PA and Edison, NJ are separated by a mere 75 miles. These two submissions were separated by a mere 24 hours, and the two authors are separated by a mere two years. And yet their perspectives are so vastly different. Why? Because each is viewing abortion through the lens of their own experience. The first girl views abortion from the perspective of the pregnant woman; the second girl views abortion from the perspective of the unwanted child. The first girl celebrates abortion for allowing her to keep her life; the second girl celebrates the fact that abortion didn't end her life. The first girl views pregnancy as the threat and abortion as the solution; the second girl views abortion as the threat and pregnancy as the solution. The first girl's plans were jeopardized by pregnancy; the second girl's life was jeopardized by abortion, which is why her interest is the more compelling one. Which is a worse fate, pregnancy or death? Since these are mutually exclusive outcomes, the lesser claim must yield to the greater.

In time, it is entirely possible that the 18-year-old from New Jersey will come to regret her abortion and long for the child she chose to destroy. It's also possible that she'll live out the rest of her days in the unshakable conviction that she made the right choice–which is why the emotional toll that abortion may or may not take on aborting women is not the fundamental reason why abortion is condemnable. The absence of conscious guilt does not guarantee the absence of real guilt. In other words, even if every aborting women in the world remained perfectly at peace with her decision, that would in no way eliminate the fact that abortion kills an innocent human being. The first girl congratulates herself for not bringing a child into the world. What she doesn't realize (or admit) is that the child was already in the world. All the abortion did was turn a living, unborn child into a dead, unborn child. Tragically, virtually all of the reasons she lists for not being able to have a child would have been solved by adoption. Instead, the life of her child was ended by abortion.

So even though the first girl seems relatively confident in her decision to abort, when you read the two accounts side by side, there is no question who made the more loving and courageous choice.