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To learn more about the potential psychological impact of abortion, read "Post-Abortion Syndrome." If you're looking for "positive" abortion stories, read this.

"I had an abortion for many reasons—justifications, I now feel. I was 18 and had a few months of high school still left. My boyfriend and I felt like we were in love with each other, but we'd only been together three months. Once I was pregnant and knew how scared he was, I questioned inwardly whether he'd stick around if I kept the baby, and was too insecure to ask him about that option. I…"

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Age: 31
Location: Belleville, IL
Date: October 27, 2019

"I know I want a baby. I’ve known I wanted to be a mom for as long as I’ve known that I need to write. As every young girl fantasizes about the different paths her future will take, my dreams have been extravagant and varied. But I’ve always kept one picture that remained clear among the blurry transitions from one milestone to the next. That picture involved a cozy room with the faded colors…"

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Age: 27
Location: United States
Date: October 20, 2019

"When I was 16, I was a very troubled teenager. Doing drugs, partying a lot, hanging with the wrong kind of people. I was having this relationship with a boy, but I knew it wasn't going to last. Then I found out that I was pregnant. I told my parents and my boyfriend. My parents were like, “you are screwing up your life,” etc. But they said, “whatever you choose, we are standing behind you.”…"

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Age: 27
Location: Hoogezand, Netherlands
Date: October 13, 2019

"He was a one-night stand; I had no feelings for him. We are young, dumb, and in college. I’ve been on birth control for two years and had an IUD in before that and never had any issues—just living my young and reckless life. I was having fun one night with my friends and went over to one of their apartments. I knew all the boys who lived there and just “rallied” with them as it was the…"

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Age: 19
Location: Arizona, USA
Date: October 1, 2019

"No intention to justify myself, but back at the time I was 35—recently divorced, and I had three children to look out for, so the news that I was pregnant with my ex-husband terrified me. At the start, I hadn't considered to abort, but a friend of mine easily convinced me a couple weeks after finding out. She even got an appointment for me. The reason why I agreed was because—as I said—I…"

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Age: 37
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Date: September 30, 2019

"I was 15 years old when a doctor told me I had a low chance of conceiving without IVF. My dream ever since I was little was to be a mother, and I’m in school to become a teacher—so kids are my life! I’ve been dating my boyfriend for almost three years and we never used protection because of my diagnosis. One day I had a rush of pregnancy symptoms and I figured it was my PCOS (Polycystic…"

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Age: 20
Location: New York
Date: September 29, 2019

"I found out I was pregnant at 19. I had just formed a relationship with my childhood sweetheart when we found out I was pregnant. We had been officially in a relationship for 12 days. I had felt tired, hungry and bloated for a few weeks, but I was on contraception so thought nothing of it. I missed my period and waited a few days to take a test. Positive. It couldn’t have looked more clear—straight…"

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Age: 19
Location: England
Date: September 27, 2019

"I had an abortion when I was 19, and I have regretted it almost every day since then. My daughter would have been 14 today. The emotional devastation is unbearable and has wracked with me depression for years—and ruined many relationships, leaving me constantly alone and unable to be at peace. I want to be a mother so badly now. I want a child of my own so badly, but I am alone, and no good…"

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Age: 34
Location: Louisiana
Date: September 25, 2019

"Even though I'm a woman, the story I'm about to tell you is not about myself—though it has impacted me and my family for the last six years. My older sister had an abortion back in December 2012. We were living in the US at the time, and I was the only one who knew back then about her decision to abort—hence the guilt I feel regarding this situation since, looking back on it, I feel I could…"

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Age: 23
Location: Buenaventura, Colombia
Date: September 17, 2019

"I’d been on Depo-Provera and was told my chances of having children were low to not possible. It had been over a year since it had run out. I’d been on the pill, but it made me sick so I stopped taking it. After all, I couldn’t get pregnant anyway. I’m in a long-term relationship. We live together, and he’s truly the love of my life. Fast forward to three months off the pill. My periods…"

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Age: 21
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date: September 9, 2019

"I’m 22 years old; I’ve had two abortions. I first found out I was pregnant at 16 years old, and I really didn’t even know with who because I was sleeping around so much. It was right after a really bad breakup, and I was trying just about anything to feel better about it, but it didn’t work. I decided to take some time to myself, then one day I couldn’t remember if I had my period.…"

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Age: 22
Location: Marietta, Georgia
Date: August 28, 2019

"I was 20 years old, and I had a gut feeling that I was pregnant again. I was sleeping all the time and felt so tired. My first-born daughter was barely 18 months when I decided to take a pregnancy test. It came out positive. The first thing I did was call Planned Parenthood. I felt numb. I felt nothing at all during the whole process of the abortion. I did not know if I was in shock because I…"

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Age: 20
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Date: August 10, 2019

"I found out I was pregnant on the 11th of June. That whole day I kept it a secret to myself, eventually telling my boyfriend the following evening in bed. He looked at the test and after a few minutes said, ‘It’s ok, we can get an appointment for an abortion’. I was 50/50 on what to do. I booked an appointment with my GP and was seen a week later. I told her I wanted an abortion. She referred…"

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Age: 21
Location: UK
Date: August 2, 2019

"This weekend, I made the biggest mistake of my life. If I could redo the past 48 hours I would. What happened? I had an abortion. Biggest mistake and regret of my life I was pregnant. Eight weeks. I was shocked, afraid, and all alone. The father didn’t want to be involved. I felt like ending the pregnancy was the best thing to do. I was wrong. I sat in the abortion clinic for about four hours…"

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Age: 29
Location: North Carolina
Date: July 22, 2019

"I was 14 years old when I found out I was pregnant. I was a freshman in a Catholic High School where my boyfriend was a junior. We never even discussed the possibility of having the baby. He just got together the money and took me to the clinic. It was a terrible, traumatic experience. I was so young and scared and cried the whole time. It was very painful, emotionally and physically, during…"

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Age: 45
Location: Las Vegas
Date: July 15, 2019