Birth Story: Illinois
Submitted to Abort73 by a 22-year-old woman on July 30, 2012.
I always grew up thinking I was pro-choice, and I always have relied on science to solve life's little mysteries. This was of course until July of 2009 when my life completely was turned upside down (or maybe it was right side up). I was a cashier working about 28 hours a week, making minimum wage, and living with my boyfriend and his brother. Then it dawned on me, "hmmm, I don't remember having my period this month." I then pulled out a pregnancy test that I bought after puking my guts out on the 4th of July when all of our friends made the comment, "hope she's not prig." Needless to say it came in handy, along with the 4 other tests that I used that night. I told my boyfriend as soon as the first test came up positive and he was unusually calm saying, "Well, lets go to the health department and get everything figured out tomorrow."
We did; we went to the health department and there I thought, they're going to give me my options, but when I got there, I was completely surprised when they set me up on the medical card and had me talk to a counselor. At that point I was still thinking, "Why haven't they asked me if I want an abortion?" so I walked out of that clinic with an application and a list of providers I could use for prenatal appointments. My boyfriend asked me on the way back, "So what are you going to do?" I said I didn't know and that I needed to think about it. At that point, things changed. He got scared and said I needed to get an abortion. I was appalled that he would ask me such a thing. After all, I'm the one who was going to be carrying this baby. I looked at him and said I'm going to have to think about this.
I took a few days to do some research and found out what abortion really was. Even looking at it from a scientific perspective, I couldn't imagine that having an abortion was "OK." and then I started to feel like, "This is a little person that I'm thinking about doing this horrendous thing to, this thing I can't ever take back," so I instantly got disgusted and shut down the computer. I wrote a letter to my boyfriend telling him everything I just had felt run through my veins and the anger I felt about anyone hurting my, correction, OUR little baby and said I would not get an abortion, and if he chose to leave then that was his choice.
He read the letter and broke down into tears. He was scared; I was scared, but I knew that I was not going to terminate any being, no matter how small. Needless to say, he did stay and we're still together and we have a beautiful little girl who I couldn't imagine being without. She is my world, and science could have never told me that. I am pro-life now because I have felt hopeless and lost, but I found my hope through my circumstance, and I can't imagine ever choosing a cold, hard table full of regrets over my wonderfully smart, talented baby girl.
Age: 22
Location: Illinois
Date: July 30, 2012
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