I was 12 when I first became pregnant. I had just lost my virginity and had moved with my father. I was used to guys making advances at me, as I had just recently began to grow a body.

I started having sex with multiple guys in the neighborhood and soon after moved back with my mom. She knew I was pregnant immediately and insisted I get an abortion.

I remember going to a hotel shortly afterwards because she wasn’t sure how I’d take it and found it best to put me in a secluded area, away from my younger brother. I would have been 13 by the time I had the child. My second abortion was with my high school sweetheart. I was 14 and heavily sexually active. Again, I told my mom and decided to have another abortion. My boyfriend didn’t have much to say; he was a silent bystander who wanted to be as unattached as possible in an effort to not gain feelings for a child who would not make it into the world. 16, I was pregnant again by my high school sweetheart. He was a high school football star and I was a cheerleader. I remember gaining an outrageous amount of weight and his friends asking whether or not I was pregnant. It was a difficult point in my life, as he continued to play football but I had to sit out to heal after the abortion. My last abortion was in 2013, I was 19 and had unprotected sex with a guy who went to a university near mine. We had known each other very briefly and neither one of us insisted on using protection. Now, I’m 21 and I can honestly reflect back on my life and realize how lost I was. I have always been very sexually active and have run from one boyfriend to the next. Abortions can hard for a person emotionally; for me, I was more emotionally affected far after the immediate abortion. More females than you may think have abortions. I judge myself more harshly because I have had so many, but I have new self-respect for myself, I am not as interested in being sexually active with guys. I am beginning to consider abstinence until marriage. Whatever your story, know that you are not alone!