I discovered I was pregnant 3 weeks after I was arrested by the police and had hit rock bottom with my addiction to crystal meth. I had no priors, in fact I was a good kid. I had only dropped out of university a few months before after becoming addicted to meth after my first hit. Getting arrested was a wake up call for me. I knew it was time to get it together now or live a life involved with crime and drugs. I moved back home with my parents. When I found out I was pregnant I was devastated, but I immediately knew this was not the time for me to bring another life into the world. I was just learning how to function again without drugs and I had conceived while I was using.

The man who got me pregnant had been my boyfriend while I was using, he was abusive and the reason I got sober was to get away from him. On my one month sobriety date I was excused from rehab to have an abortion. I kept it a secret from my parents, but my grandmother took me, she has always been a supporter of women’s rights and had always said planned parenthood saved her life, although she never went into the details. I had an abortion when I was 19 years old, on my one month sobriety date. Two days later I turned 20.

Today I am 23 and have kept my original sobriety date, I have been sober for almost 3.5 years! I have made a complete 180 in my life and I believe having an abortion saved my life. At 19 years old and recovering from addiction I had enough on my plate as it was, I do not believe I could have stayed sober with the added stress of a child. I do not believe I would have been a happy, healthy, contributing member of society if I had not had an abortion. Having that abortion helped me move forward in my life, it has made all the difference.