I had a baby before I was 18. I was unmarried and just could not face having an abortion, even though my close friend had one less than a year before I found out I was pregnant. When my baby was 9 months old, I found out I was pregnant again.

I knew there was no way I could take care of another child, so I sought an abortion. I was about 2 1/2 months pregnant before the father of this baby came up with the money for me to have the procedure. He did not go with me and had his friend (a married woman that lived down the street) take me and pick me up. She let me rest at her house afterwards for a few hours and I didn’t see my boyfriend until the next week. He acted as if nothing had happened. I was somewhat unprepared for how much the procedure would hurt and I was totally unprepared for how I would be treated by the clinic staff. I suppose now that they have to develop a way of dealing with this situation on a day to day basis, but at the time, I could not believe they were being so cold and impervious to my emotional distress. I was glad to get out of there and back home. I had another child later on..but was not in such a bad situation and able to handle being a mom again. I look at this time of my life as “something I had to do” like having surgery or dental work done, and try not to think about it too much. I hope my children make choices they can deal with in life.