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I’m 34 and I live in a part of Mexico where abortion is still not legal. Back in February I found out I was three weeks pregnant, first trough a home test, and then through a blood test done at a lab. When I got the results from the lab, I knew right away I didn’t want to be pregnant. I didn’t tell the father anything because we were not in a relationship, and I also didn’t want to justify of explain my actions to anyone. On my way back home, I started thinking about what I would do to end my pregnancy. I thought about traveling to Mexico City where you can get an abortion safely, but that was an expensive option for me. I then got in contact with a group of local feminists who use Facebook to guide other women through medicated at home abortions. I went to my nearest pharmacy to buy misoprostol. Even though you don’t need a prescription, the pharmacist didn’t want to sell it to me, so I went to another pharmacy. The other pharmacist was very kind and sold me the misoprostol with no problem (I paid $25 dollars for a box of 28 tablets). I also bought ibuprofen, pads, and electrolytes. I went back home and before taking the first dose of misoprostol, I decided to call my sister who lives in California and who had had an abortion at Planned Parenthood a couple of years before. She was very supportive and helpful. I then took two doses of misoprostol and began to bleed lightly. I also got cramps, fever, and diarrhea but these symptoms only lasted through the night. In the end, I only took 3 doses of misoprostol because that seemed to work.

The bleeding went on for days. After 10 days I was still bleeding and I went to my OB/GYN and told her the story. She was very kind and told me that she was not going to report me to the authorities, and that I needed an ultrasound to make sure the pregnancy was terminated. We did that and sure enough, there was no more pregnancy; I was relieved. She also gave my a prescription for an antibiotic to avoid any infections. In total, I bled for 15 days and it took a while for my period to come back. I’m happy that I had no complications and that I had the resources to buy the medication and pay for my visit to my OB/GYN. However, it saddens me that I had to risk my wellbeing and that I had to do this alone at home because it was the only choice I really had.

Abortion should be legal, safe and free for every woman that decides to terminate her pregnancy.

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