I was 20 when he promised me he was infertile, and I trusted him. Why wouldn’t I? He was a close friend and had never lied to me before.

At the time, I was going to a very expensive private college and my conservative parents were already stressed as a result of that. So, I never told them. I did tell him, however, and he panicked. He’s Catholic, and assumed I was going to keep the child. He was supportive of me, went to the clinic with me, and offered to help pay. I knew he could barely afford food for himself, so I paid all of the bills and he did not object. Before the abortion, it was a tough decision for me. My parents would have rather I kept the child, and I had nightmares about them finding out about the abortion. I had no idea what they would have done, but I never wanted to find out. It’s almost 3 years later, and I still get billed every few months. What I hope to see in the future is reduced stigma of abortions and more options for women who cannot afford them.