I am now in my seventies. When I had my abortion it was not yet legal, nor were there birth control pills. I was 19 and in love with my college boyfriend.

I was working in new york for the summer because it was his home town. I practiced the rhythm method of birth control which worked for several months but then I got pregnant. If he had helped me I would have had the baby but he was horrified at the thought. I knew I couldn’t do it alone so I agreed to have an illegal abortion. We went by bus to Harlem where a nurse inserted a stick like object into my uterus and told me to go home and drink gin. I think my boyfriend paid her $100. The next day the 7 week old fetus came out in the toilet. It was a tiny blob. A day or two after that I started cramping and feeling feverish so I called the nurse. She said to go to the women’s hospital. I spent the night in a ward and had a d & c the next morning. I was lucky. 2 years later I married a man who wouldn’t have married me if I had had a child. I finished my education and went on to have 4 children. I never regretted the abortion or felt guilty about it. I felt sad for awhile but I was mostly mourning the breakup with the boy I loved. The type of abortion I had was dangerous and emotionally stressful. Women today are so blessed to have access to good birth control and safe abortion.